The Love Charade
by KillMePls123
Summary: Adrien, AKA Chat Noir, has always wondered who's face resides underneath Ladybug's mask, while Marinette has always rejected Chat and swore to keep their identities secret. Now seventeen, Marinette happens to walk into something she's not supposed to see: Adrien transforming into Chat Noir. As they go through shocking revelations, Marinette and Adrien are torn between who to love.
1. Chapter 1 : Discovery

**Uncovered Mask**

**ALL CHARACTERS ARE AGED FROM AT LEAST SEVENTEEN TO EIGHTEEN!**

**_"We passed each other like strangers,_**

**_I love you to death, until I'm driven crazy._**

**_I will love you through eternity, I'm not letting you go._**

**_I must find you."_**

**~Chapter One~**

"Chat! Watch out!" Ladybug's voice rang out throughout the empty street as a car was flung at Chat Noir by the villain of the week. Luckily, he had heard her desperate cry to help and moved out of the way, doing a back-flip in a showoff way.

He smirked at her, "Thanks, bugaboo." She scoffed, shaking her head and remembering the task at hand. Ladybug, Marinette's alter ego, blocked all of the villain's moves, grunting at the punches that she failed to put off, which only happened to make her more determined to save the akuma's victim.

The villain was only a little girl, similar to that of Manon, but with the power of toys on her side. It was a stranger, no one she knew, but she was called 'The ToyKeeper', and she used anything considered a toy as her minions or tools.

Ladybug screamed as she was thrown into the ground. She saw more toys start to surround her as she barely regained herself and whined, "Really?!"

After receiving a painful punch to the face, and noticing his lady's distress, Chat Noir finally delivered a hard kick to the villain's side. The girl cried out, wanting sympathy, but that part had been over. The team of superheroes only fell for that once, and never again would they.

Chat Noir scoffed, "Nice act, but you're not fooling anyone." The little girl rolled her eyes and proceeded to stand once again. Suddenly, all the toys that had once been surrounding and fighting both Ladybug and the rest of Paris, ran and joined the girl. The girl's suit, which was a stuffed bear, morphed into a giant form of her former suit.

At first, Ladybug and Chat attempted to fight against it, but once realizing it was too big for them, they started to run. Ladybug used her yo-yo to swing on a building, running while looking for a chance to use her lucky charm. Her partner followed suit, and the bear chased. Now on the Eiffel Tower with the giant bear following fast, she exclaimed, "Lucky Charm!" An extra long and large piece of rope fell into her hands.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Ladybug looked to Chat, but he just shrugged.

"I don't know, but you better do it fast! I don't know if I can _bear_ anymore punches." She rolled her eyes as Chat smirked at her, and looked around for something to use with this. Her eyes finally looked at the bear suit and she smirked.

"Chat, use your cataclysm at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower to tip it over!"

"But-"

"Trust me, Chat!" Her eyes looked pleadingly, yet in a commanding way, into his completely green ones. He sighed, yielding to her look.

"I hope you know what you're doing!" He ran down to the bottom quickly as the giant sized villain neared.

"Cataclysm!" His hand ran against the two bottom legs of the tower facing the villain. As the Tower tilted toward the girl, she gasped and the bear held up the Tower with its giant paws. Seizing the opportunity, Ladybug ran and tied the bear's legs together, making the villain slip and lose her balance. The Eiffel Tower fell, in an angle, and onto the villain, pinning her down, and leaving her vulnerable. Ladybug, using her yo-yo, wrapped it around one of the large bear's arms and then tore it off, releasing the dark akuma.

"NO!" The girl shouted in a sob, and Chat Noir went to stand next to his crush.

A small akuma was released from the now torn bear, and Ladybug smiled. "No more evilizing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!"

Her yo-yo snatched the akuma inside, and then released a white butterfly.

"Bye-Bye, little butterfly." It flew off, and the magic spread, fixing the Tower and reverting the villain to its former person.

The little girl held her hurting head, "What happened?"

Ladybug smiled once again, and Chat Noir's fist met hers. "Pound it!"

With the akuma gone, the small child had returned home with her mother. Ladybug's earrings rang, notifying her of her upcoming transformation. And so did Noir's, she waved bye to him, but was surprised when his hand held her back.

"Ladybug... Why can't we-"

"I need to go, Chat." Her voice was stern and cold. Not even glancing at him, she rudely shoved his hand off her shoulder and swing her yo-yo, disappearing into the night. Saddened, he ran off as well, retreating home.

A groan left her lips as Marinette's back collapsed onto the bed. She was exhausted, especially when it was so late. As the adrenaline from the fight was still running through her veins, she couldn't fall asleep. Her mind flashed back to earlier.

_"Ladybug..." The look on Chat's face... Did he really... He couldn't. Could he? But... Adrien..._

Tikki noticed the frustration in her friend's face. "What's on your mind, Marinette?"

The seventeen-year old sighed, "It's just... Our identities. Remind me why we can't know each other's identity, Tikki."

"Because you'll be put in danger! It isn't safe for_ anyone _to know who you are," Tikki paused. "Marinette, you wouldn't-"

"Of course not! I wouldn't dream of it." Marinette closed her eyes, her heart ached remembering the sadness in her partner's eyes. "It's just... Why would it matter if we did? If no one knew but us-"

"It could ruin the partnership, Marinette. If it was someone you couldn't stand, even if it was someone you were friends with, it would change your entire world."

The girl sighed and clutched her pillow to her chest. "You're right..."

_She knew what Tikki said was right. Logically, she also knew it was the right thing to do. Yet, her heart yearned for something else._

Adrien's yell of frustration echoed against the walls of his room as his hands threw the basketball, and yet again, missed. Plagg looked at him, in both worry and confusion. "Whoa, you okay? Looks like you could use some Camembert..."

The young superhero shook his head, "It's just... I can't stop thinking about-"

"Let me guess. Ladybug?"

"Yeah!" The kwami's sarcastic tone didn't register inside the young man's brain, and he continued to rant to the magical creature. "I mean, she's so courageous and beautiful but... I don't even know who she is. It pains me to know that she'd never trust me enough...let alone even love me."

"Told you to open that closet door when you had the chance. Now you'll regret it for the rest of your sad life."

"Shut up, Plagg. I was following my heart, and respecting my lady's privacy. If she didn't want me to see who she was..." Adrien walked over to his bed, and sat down on the edge of it. His chin rested in his hands, and he sighed to himself.

"I love her, Plagg. I love her so much it hurts..."

"Yeah..." Plagg rolled his eyes, feigning disinterest, but the creature's core ached for his Master's unrequited love.

Morning came fast for the young heroes. Marinette rolled over, falling off her bed. A loud groan filled the room as she slowly sat up, and she sighed. She looked at the time and gasped. "I'm gonna be late for school! Again!"

Moments later, Marinette was rushing out the front door of the bakery with a croissant in mouth and her bag in hand. "I can't be late!"

Meanwhile, in the Agreste mansion, Adrien slumbered on his bed. His snores melded along with Plagg's, both unaware of their late morning. Suddenly, a phone's ringing awoke the young model and he reaches for his phone, answering it whilst barely awake. Nino's voice yelled into his ear and he winced.

"Bro, where are you?! The teacher is gonna be hella mad if you're late again."

Adrien's eyes widened, "Oh! Um, I'm almost there! Just stall for a second!"

He hung up and sprang out of the bed. He got ready as fast as he could. "Plagg, wake up! We gotta go!"

Plagg rolled over, still snoring and not waking up at all. Adrien, finally ready, rolled his eyes grabbing his bag and then shoving his kwami into it. His muffled complaint met deaf ears as Adrien quickly ran out of his house and met Gorilla, his chauffeur and bodyguard, in his car.

"Drive!"

The bell rang, and only moments later did the two adolescents stumble into the classroom while the teacher facing the board. They secretly rushed to their seats, almost in sync. Alya smirked knowingly at her friend and shook her head, "Where have you been?"

"Oh! Well, I was just, you know, helping mom and dad in the bakery and-"

"Asleep?"

"Yeah..." Marinette's head sank in defeat. "I had a long night..."

Nino looked questioningly at Adrien, and the friend in question sheepishly smiled, "Overslept a little, I guess."

Nino snorted, "Yeah, I could tell."

Thirty minutes later into the lesson, the wall was smashed into and a villain jumped inside the classroom. The akumatized citizen seemed to be in some sort of general attire. He threw a grenade at the teacher, and a green smoke surrounded her, transforming her instantly into a blind soldier of his. All the students rushed out, and as Marinette hesitated, she was the last one to be out of the classroom. She quickly made her way to the janitor's closet to turn into Ladybug. Swinging the door open in urgency, she quickly stepped inside and gasped.

"Plagg, claws ou-"

"A-Adrien...?"

***Just the first chapter, but I hope you enjoyed it so far!***


	2. Chapter 2 : Reflection

**Uncovered Mask**

_**"I recognized you as soon as I saw you,**_

_**As if we've called each other,**_

_**The DNA in my blood is telling me,**_

_**That it's you who I've been looking for..."**_

**~Chapter Two~**

_"Plagg, claws ou-"_

_"A-Adrien?"_

Both Adrien and Plagg's eyes widened at the raven-haired girl standing at the doorway. Her eyes turned into those of anger as she slammed the door quickly behind her and locked it. "Or should I say _Chat Noir_?"

On the outside, one would say she was just angry, but on the inside, she felt a swirl of both emotions and thoughts. She felt angry, confused, nervous, curiosity, and especially shock.

_It was him this whole time? I had pushed him away several times... But why didn't he... Should I tell him it's me? Maybe he already knows, because the only way I would know he is Chat Noir is if I knew what kwamis are... Dammit, I spoke too soon, I should have just asked him what his kwami is..._

"Marinette, look, I- Please. Don't tell anyone-"

"Wait! How did you know he was Chat Noir?" Plagg, the small kwami creature, flew in front of her face.

His voice disrupted her thoughts and she almost blushed for being dazed in thought. _Just what I thought, now his kwami suspects me..._

"W-What do you just mean? I just, well, I just guessed." Marinette laughed nervously, scratching the back of her neck.

"But the only way you would know who he was, is if you know what I am, which is a kwami." Adrien raised an eyebrow, intrigued at the answer she would have for them. After a minute, she finally scowled and rolled her eyes.

"That isn't what's important here! The fact of the matter is, how could you be so careless as to transform in an_ unlocked _closet?! Anybody else could've walked in here, you know! Then everybody would know Adrian Agreste is Chat Noir!"

Adrien looked at her, still passive and calm, "What makes me think _you're _not going to tell anyone?"

Frustrated, and still debating whether to tell him or not, she scoffed and crossed her arms, "Don't you have a villain to get rid of?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Then? Transform."

He blinked, and looked at her confused, "Then get out and guard the door."

"Oh... Right, hehe."

Sighing, she quickly walked out and slammed the door behind her, locking it once again. She stood pondering for a second, and a sudden blush crept to her cheeks as she realized her crush was the one she had been with this whole time, a big flirt, as well as pushing him away. _How much more stupid could I get?_

A muffled 'Plagg, claws out!' pulled her out of her dazed ponder. She shook her head as the door swung open, revealing Chat Noir, Adrien's alter ego. His lips formed toothy grinned, "Thanks, Marinette. Now get somewhere safe..."

The teenager nodded, mock saluting, and with that he ran off. She glanced around warily, then rushed into the closet, locking it hastily. Tikki flew out of her coin purse quickly, "Marinette, are you okay? I mean, Adrien being-"

"I'm fine, Tikki! Just..." She shook her hand, as if shaking away her momentarily shock, and nodded. "Let's go save Paris."

"Tikki, spots on!" Bright magic flowed, transforming her into the superhero, Ladybug. She rushed out of the closet door, joining Adrien Agreste in battle.

Due to the akuma attack, school had been let out early, sending students home with extra homework. Marinette sighed as she walked home, exhausted. Fighting with Chat Noir had been both distracting and emotionally tiring, not to mention reporters had been bugging afterwards which had just stressed her out even more. The sun had started to set and she was dying to collapse on her bed.

"What a tiring day."

Marinette looked down to see Tikki slightly popped out of her purse, and she nodded in agreement. "Yeah... Tikki... Do you think I should-"

"No! Absolutely not! Marinette, we already talked about this, remember? It isn't safe for either of you, especially with HawkMoth still around. He could target you just for knowing Chat Noir personally..."

She knew what the kwami was saying made sense, but her heart ached for more. Especially knowing that it was _him._.. Surprisingly, knowing he was also Chat made her more comfortable around Adrien, but there is still a twinge of nervousness in her chest at the thought of him. Her heart fluttered, knowing she's kissed Adrien, knowing he's spent almost every day with her, knowing he might actually _love_ her... It meant the world to her. Not being to show her identity was the tricky part.

"Everything is so complicated, Tikki. Adrien trusts me, why can't I trust him? As long as- AHH!"

A black figure had swept her into the air, allowing her to release a loud shriek. She was used to being in the air, but being kidnapped was a whole different story. Marinette struggled against her captor, but it benefited no one when all it was met with was shushes. She had finally managed to deliver a good punch to the napper's face, she felt herself slip from his grasp midair.

"Marinette!"

She turned as she started to fall and screamed when she noticed it was Chat Noir. "Chat!"

Her bright blue eyes met his green ones, both in an urgent panic. Marinette couldn't change into Ladybug in front of Adrien, but she would have to if... Her eyes met the ground zooming in quick, she closed them, about to utter the words to trigger the change.

She felt herself being pulled back, her breath stolen from her with the shock from the force. Rolling together onto a roof, Marinette Dupain-Cheng found her face inches from Adrian Agreste's. For the third time this evening, she felt her breath leave her chest as her eyes gazed intently into the green cat-like orbs that belonged to her superhero partner _and_ her crush. Her cheeks heated, her heartbeat pounded inside her chest, and her eyelids almost fluttered close when he nervously chuckled, "You should probably get off me now..."

His hands had gone clammy when she had ended up on top of him, he had felt as if it was meant to happen. Adrien wasn't as stupid as he looked, he had actually noticed her lips centimeters away from his, and the flutter in her eyes as her heart beat against his, and maybe he should've let it happen but...

_But I love Ladybug..._

As Marinette pulled away from him, he felt the warmth pull away as well. His heart _almost_ ached.

Adrien stood up, dusting himself off while pondering to himself for a moment. _Maybe I could learn to love her... To be honest, things weren't looking well with Ladybug. Marinette was the obvious, better choice._ But his heart ached for her... _But_, he thought to himself, _why would Marinette ever like someone like him? She was probably just in the moment..._

Marinette rolled over, sitting up and fixing her bangs. His hand appeared in front of her, beckoning as an effort to help her up. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you or anything. I just wanted to surprise you."

"It's okay, I mean, no real harm was done." She took his hand, her blush not fading a bit as he helped her to stand. She smiled at him brightly, feigning happiness with sadness evident in her eyes at the fleeting moment.

"I actually wanted to take you home, maybe even spend some time with you, and talk about what you saw earlier..." He smiled wistfully, feeling bad for the lost moment that was at hand. He felt like those people in the movies, the ones who lead others on... _How terrible..._

The young girl nodded, "You _did_ save me just now, you know?"

"Yeah but, I had just put you in danger before I-"

"Oh come on, I'm trying to toss you a yarn ball here..."

His eyes narrowed playfully, "Was that supposed to be a-"

"Look, just go with it." They both laughed, the terrible pun grazing the tension in the air away. There was a second of silence between the two, before the kitty grinned toothily.

"Well then, let's take you home..."

The two arrived at the bakery's balcony in a mere ten minutes. The laughs during their journey were many, and enjoy the way they did so. Their giggles in the night sky fell upon asleep ears, meeting cold air and bright street lights.

Marinette landed on her balcony gently, Chat hesitantly letting her go, almost as if scared she'd fall from his grasp to the concrete below. "So, you two really didn't know what you guys were doing at first? You just kind of guessed or-"

"Yeah, hahah. Ladybug and I were so clumsy at first, having absolutely no clue..." He smiled genuinely, remembering their first battle together. Ladybug was so afraid and unsure of herself... _I remember when she came had come barreling in, saving me from the slam of Stoneheart's hand..._

_"Sorry, I'm late." Ladybug had hung him upside down on the street pole, sitting above him and looking at him with a serious demeanor._

_"Lady, did I ever tell you, you turned my world upside down?" He had grinned cockily while she merely rolled her eyes. He certainly wasn't lying, though._

"Do you really love her?"

"What?" Brought out of his daze, he met her with a confused look on his face.

She smiled gently, "Ladybug? Do you really love her?"

"I-" Chat looked down, hesitating on his answer. His heart said yes, but he still paused. Was he unsure? Was it because Marinette was here? He didn't know. Before, he never would've given it a second thought, so why now?

"It's okay. You don't have to answer." Seeing the genuine confusion in his eyes, she realized that answering a question like that wasn't as easy as it seemed. "I mean, love is a really complicated thing."

"Love..." He nodded, agreeing with her. He turned, boosting himself up on the balcony, ready to leave.

"Wait..." Her voice sounded slightly rasp, thick with emotion. _If he loves Ladybug, then he'd never love... Me._ "I thought you wanted to hang out and talk."

"Oh... Well," He cursed in his head. Adrien knew he had to entail her with details, besides, she could be a useful ally. "We'll have all day tomorrow. It's a Saturday after all."

Marinette smiled at his back, he was still turned away. "Okay, so you'll come over as Adrie-"

"Yeah... See you tomorrow, Marinette."

"Chat, I-"

Not hearing her words, he leaped off the railing, extending his staff onto the park statue, and then jumping onto the roof over towards the direction of his mansion. She swallowed, _If he had heard me, what would I have told him? Does he love her? Would he ever love..._

His mind, his heart, they both clashed with each other, confusing his feelings for thoughts and thoughts for feelings as he raced into the night, desperate to sleep and forget all the bad and even the good. He didn't want to be in reality right now...

She retreated inside her room, sighing as she changed into her sleepwear, and turned off the light. She lifted the covers, sinking onto a warm embrace of blanket and bed.

Adrien Agreste sank into his bed, groaning at the pleasure of comfort.

Both green and blue eyes met the ceiling, throats lumped with emotion as a single sentence was uttered in the stillness of the night in unison:

_"What do I do now?"_

**Gotta say, this one really hit the feels deep. I just really wanted to express the seriousness in their world, I mean sometimes it may seem like a simple cheesy cartoon , but the danger is real. And frankly, their lives are freaking complicated. I'm surprised that Adrien doesn't have depression with the life he lives.**

**Now, even though this one was just a little bit of an empty chapter, it definitely had character development. Chat Noir is debating his feelings, realizing that Ladybug just MIGHT not be such a logical and possible choice. And Marinette is just debating when to really reveal herself, or reveal herself at all. But I'll just say it won't happen anytime soon.**

**Tell me any errors and etc.! Leave a like on the post and don't forget to comment your support!**

**ANYWWAYS, I hope you're all excited for the next chapter, because it'll be a fun one!**

_**Asylum 3**_


	3. Chapter 3 : Beginnings

**Uncovered Mask**

_**"I've been dancing on top of cars and stumbling out of bars**_  
_**I follow you through the dark, can't get enough**_  
_**You're the medicine and the pain, the tattoo inside my brain**_  
_**And, baby, you know it's obvious**_

_**I'm a sucker for you**_  
_**You say the word and I'll go anywhere blindly"**_

**~Chapter Three~**

_His eyes were angry but also had another emotion, they were like green calming flames, demanding your submission. "We aren't friends."_

_She gulped. The hand on her arm made goosebumps grow on every inch of her skin. "We're not?"_

_The smirk on his pinkish lips, the ones his tongue grazed over lightly, gave unease to her core. "We are..."_

_His hand left her arm, and went up to her face as he gently grazed her bottom lip with his thumb. Then, he genuinely smiled, his demeanor changing but his eyes the same: mad with lust. "We are much more than friends..."_

_Suddenly, unease wasn't the only thing her 'core' felt._

Marinette's eyes opened fast, her ringtone bugging her head and she groaned. Picking up the phone, she spoke into it, with her voice still groggy, she muttered, "Hello?"

"Hey, I'm coming over to pick you up."

Her eyes almost popped out of her head at the recognition of his voice, "A-Adrien?"

"Yeah?"

"Oh my gosh, Adrien! Um, yeah! Sure! Right now?" She got up fast, going to her closet and looking through her mess of clothes for something to wear. "Wait, where are going?"

"It's a surprise, but yeah, when else? Are you busy right now?" He nervously chuckled.

"Oh! For you? Never, heh. I mean, not just for you, I try to be early- Ah!" By her luck, Marinette's leg slipped on one of her pairs of smooth jeggings, and she fell on her butt. She groaned, hitting the exact spot where her tailbone was when she fell. "I just have the worst of luck."

From behind her, she heard Tikki giggling at her misfortune. Adrien laughed wholeheartedly, her clumsiness making her seem cute even over the phone. "Are you okay? What happened?"

"Nothing, I just slipped." She got up, rubbing her sore bottom. "Um... What time do you think you'll be here?"

"How does five minutes sound?"

"WHAT? Five minutes?!" She shrieked, putting the phone on speaker as she looks into her closet quicker for her outfit for the day.

"Yeah, is that okay?" She felt his smirk from the other side of the phone, and blushed. _How could she say no?_

"I-It's okay. I'm almost ready anyways.."

"Alright, princess. I'll see you in a few." Marinette's neck and face flushed as she heard him chuckle and hang up. _Princess, he called me princess. I mean, that's what Chat Noir used to call me, but it never really affected me until now. Ahh! If he does that again I'm gonna lose it._

Heart still pounding, Marinette shook her head and started to put a cute outfit together, but there was one thing Marinette had in the back of her mind, one thing that irked her.

_The boy in her dreams had black cat ears, and messy blonde hair. She wasn't dreaming about Adrien, no, she had been dreaming about Chat._

Marinette groaned aloud, looking at her shirts. "Tikki, I really think we should tell Adrien."

Tikki frowned to herself, and flew close to her ladybug. "Martinette, you know it's too dangerous. Especially if you're seen fraternizing with Chat Noir in civilian form, Hawkmoth might use you against him!"

Marinette looked at her kwami with pleading eyes, "But Tikki-"

"Marinette, there's a reason Master Fu trusts you. You don't put your feelings over your head, while Adrien, although sweet, can mix feelings and logic."

Marinette stepped in front of the mirror, patting down her skirt. Guilt seeped in the pit of her stomach. _Maybe one day..._

Adrien woke up, his hand flew to the alarm, disabling it, and getting up immediately to get ready. He thought of yesterday, when Marinette was on top of him, _and so close. God, he really had to re-evaluate his morals, especially when the memory had caused something he wasn't prepared to deal with so early in the morning._

He slipped on a nice outfit, a standard black tee and black pants. He ruffled his hair slightly out of habit, wanting to show his wild side, his Chat Noir ego.

"Plagg, come on, we gotta go meet Marinette." The black feline-like kwami chuckled to himself as Adrien looked himself up and down in his mirror.

"Who's she? Your new girlfriend?" He nibbled on some Camembert, teasing him lightly. He knew Adrien's love for Ladybug was practically unbreakable since the first time he laid his eyes on her.

"Maybe, you never know."

Plagg spit out his cheese, choking, and looked at him in surprise. "What?" He sputtered, "B-But what about-"

Adrien petted the kwami behind his ears, laughing joyously. "Just teasing, Plagg. Calm down. Now I think I need to call her..." His voice trailed off as he reached for his phone.

Plagg looked at him in wonder. He wondered what would happen when he learned the girl of his dreams and his 'friend' were one in the same. Plagg scowled, and took another bite of his camembert.

He dialed Marinette's number and smiled. Knowing the girl, she was probably asleep. But calling ahead of time was preferable for someone who is always running late. "Hey, I'm coming over to pick you up."

He smiled, conversing with her. His conscious was muddled, yet his heart and body had a clear, different feeling to Marinette.

His heart stopped as soon as he saw her. His heart swelled, and so did hers the minute they really laid eyes upon one another. He knew it was just to explain what was going on but it felt like, well, it almost felt like a date.

Marinette smiled, her cheeks rosy with blush as his eyes practically devoured every inch of her body. _She was so beautiful._ Her dark navy blue hair, usually wrapped in her iconic ponytails, was now let down with the exception of the top half being held back with a small, white bow. Her usual attire was replaced with a casual dress, the top was white lace with flowers designed all around it while the bottom was an above the knee pink flowing skirt along with her light pink flats. Her smile though, it topped off the whole look. He felt himself flustered as well, he had felt over-dressed, but clearly was well appreciated by the glance her eyes did every now and then.

She bit her lip nervously, his messy hair, his black attire really showing his wild and flowing spirit. It was all so, so..._attractive._

She shook her head, _Adrien doesn't like me. He likes Ladybug._ "Should we get going, Adrien?"

"O-Oh yeah. Right." He took her hand, his knees felt weak, but he disregarded them, and kissed the back of it. "Onward we shall go, m'lady."

_"Falling for me already, M'lady? I need to talk to you." Chat Noir twisted his tail playfully, smirking up at the hanging superhero. Marinette, or Ladybug, shook her head and met him on the railing._

_"It's got to wait, Dark Cupi- Uh, uh..." He pulled her close, shushing her and smiling blissfully. Her nerves wracked, surprised to hear what was so important._

_"Shh. I swore to myself that I'd tell you as soon as I saw you..." Chat Noir, or Adrien disguised, had held a finger to her lips. Remembering that now sent butterflies across her abdomen._

_"Ladybug... I... I- LOOK OUT!" His eyes flickered behind her quickly, turning them around and wincing as the arrow of hatred hit his back._

_Ladybug gasped, "Chat Noir!" Still in his embrace, she felt herself tear up. 'No...'_

_Marinette remembered that day. His words of loathing that pained her... The kiss they shared, the kiss that brought him back to normal._

The memory had hit her like a truck. _My first kiss, it WAS with Adrien._ Her eyes widened as soon as he had uttered those words, and she smiled. "Yes, we shall."

Adrien extended his arms, being charmingly silly and she laughed as she took it. "So, before we get into it… how about we get to know each other a bit?

"Oh? So like, what? Twenty questions?" She smiled, looking at the floor as they walked towards the park nearby.

"Precisely. I'll even start us off, if that's okay with you?"

"Okay, why not?"

Adrien and Marinette sat on a bench, and looked at her seriously. "Alright, Marinette. Answer this honestly…"

She chuckled, slightly nervous. "As honest as I can be."

"What's your favorite type of ice cream, Marinette?"

Marinette laughed and shook her head, the tension melting away. "Really? That's it? I thought-"

"That what? That I'd ask for your social security or something?" He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes.

"Well, to answer your question...I think they're _all _really good. But if I had to choose, it would be strawberry or red velvet. You?"

"Well, this cat enjoys himself some good strawberries. But I think my favorite _has_ to be... mint chocolate chip. The freshness and chocolate is _so _good."

Marinette laughed, and then nodded in agreement. "Well, can't argue with that…"

"Alright, ask a question."

"Oh, my turn, okay…" Marinette looked up, pondering. "Ooh! I got one." She looked at him, smiling. "Night owl or early bird?"

"Oof, definitely night owl. But because of my busy modeling schedule and school, I wake up early all the time." Adrien shrugged, sighing. "My sleeping schedule is literally non-existent."

"Hah, amen to that. Akumas never stop, they are always causing a ruckus no matter what time it is."

Adrien laughed, "I guess you could say there ain't no rest for the wicked."

Marinette giggled, and subconsciously played with the ends of her hair. "Your turn."

Adrien smirked again, "Who's your favorite superhero?"

Marinette scoffed, rolling her eyes. "I think out of all of them, definitely Rena Rouge."

Adrien lightly and playfully shoved her, "Oh really? Does leather not do it for you?"

Smirking, she gave him a daring glance, "It actually does."

It had meant to be playful and teasing, but when Marinette uttered those words, they both just stayed silent. It was as if the playful tension had turned into something more. Marinette's brows furrowed, intensely staring into his beautiful green eyes with thoughts that swarmed inside her head, and conflictions burrowed in her heart. _She was ladybug. And as Ladybug, she had decided that no, leather did not do it for her. But now…I mean, this was Adrien we were talking about. But… it wasn't. He was so much more than that. He was her partner against crime, one of her best friends, and this whole time she had held him on top of a platform when all he had wanted was to be seen as someone normal. Someone free._ Despite all that, Marinette couldn't bring herself to push her lips against his even though she desperately wanted to._ This isn't right, _she scolded herself._ I can't just be with him because he's Adrien. I love part of him, but now... _

Her eyes widened as she realized she had zone out, and that Adrien and her were once again mere centimeters apart. She suddenly looked down, nervously chuckling as she evaded his gaze. "So, now that we got that part out of the way… shouldn't we talk about what we came here to talk about?"

Adrien recoiled, slightly moving away as he realized how close he had been, "O-Oh. Right. So, um, super powers…"

Marinette let out a dry laugh, "Is it like magic?"

Adrien took a deep breath, ready to really pour his soul out to her. It was weird that it was someone else rather than Plagg, but he was kind of happy about it nonetheless. "Well, part of it..."

She smiled softly, wanting to hear his side of the story. Adrien glanced at her, and smiled back. "It was the first day of school, and I had just gotten home from trying to attend it, and-"

"Wait, so your father didn't want you to go to school?" Marinette stopped, looking at him in confusion.

"Yeah, my father can be very… strict, I guess. He wanted me to do tutors and homeschooling, but I wanted to be like everyone else so I tried to. I was almost there too, but I saw an old man stumble without his cane, so I helped him up. But since I did that, Nathalie, my dad's assistant, and Gorilla, my bodyguard, blocked me from the school entrance."

Marinette gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "You helped out someone in need, like the hero you are, Adrien."

"Yeah. Anyway, I learned that the old man I helped was the one who gave me the miraculous I found in my bag. His name is Master Fu, and he's the last guardian of the miraculous."

Feigning obliviousness, Marinette tipped her head in confusion. "Miraculous?"

"They're basically pieces of jewelry. Like my ring," Adrien held his hand up, showing her the silver band, "it's what I use to transform into Chat Noir."

"Oh, like Ladybug and her earrings, right?"

Adrien nodded, "Yeah, and so basically, this specific miraculous is the power of destruction. I can used cataclysm, and m'lady, well, she is creation. She's basically the yin to my yang. I can't save Paris without her."

Marinette shifted uneasily, and sighed. "I promise I won't tell anyone, Adrien. You should just be more careful. I can't imagine what would've happened if it had been someone else, like Chloe Bourgeois…"

"Hey, Chloe isn't that bad."

"Oh yeah, it's not like she didn't tell the whole world she's Queen Bee or anything."

"Heh, yeah. I guess you're right." As Marinette looked at the ground, Adrien placed his hand on hers, which rested on her thigh. She looked down at his hand, and a slight blush crept on her cheeks. "I'm glad it was you, Marinette."

She smiled, looked up at him, and placed her hand on his cheek, "Me too."

"Get your tickets, right here at the fair!"

He could hear the carnival manager from his cage, he frowned. They had just captured him yesterday, and they were in town for today. He saw the curtains open as he was on display for the world to see. His talent to breathe underwater had him believed to be a mermaid, so they had locked him in a large aquarium-like tub and basically imprisoned him. The kids tapped on the glass continuously, annoyingly, and then they ended up tipping him over.

He felt like he was suffocating. A fish without air, and as he grasped for something, anything as he writhed in pain, he ended up grabbing a piece of fork on the floor, and then he felt something enter the tiny, plastic utensil.

"Hello, Triton. I am Hawk Moth, I'll help you get your revenge on all these townies and these wretched captors of yours."

"What's in it for you, Hawk Moth?" A butterfly shaped purple light shone on his face, the area around his eyes which shone with anger and hurt.

"Well, I'm glad you asked..."

Marinette and Adrien strolled down the street towards the ice cream parlor. "No well, I actually believe that there may be aliens out there."

"Oh come on, Adrien. Aliens, really?"

"Well, if there's a ring you put on so you can have a cat _warped_ into your ring and then be turned into a leather-suited feline, I'm pretty sure there's another form of intelligent life out there."

Marinette chuckled, "You got me there, Chaton."

_"WHERE'S LADYBUG?! SOMEBODY HELP!"_

They looked over as people ran down the street, screaming for their lives in fear as water followed quickly behind. It wasn't enough for a tsunami, but enough to lightly flood the streets and cause panic.

"Run, you filthy humans! _Run!_"

Marinette's eyes widened, "Adrien.. you should go-"

Adrien shook his head, "You need to be safe first." He picked her up bridal-style, causing her to squeal as he ran down the street, looking for a place to change. She looked up at him, admist of all the chaos, and felt her cheeks burning up. _Now is not the time, idiot._

"Adrien, there!" She pointed down an alley, and he ran into it quickly. He set her down gently, and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, you'll be safe. Plagg-"

Marinette grabbed his hand softly, interrupting him. "Adrien, you can't worry about me right now! I'll be fine, just go save Paris-"

"Do you seriously think I would leave you?!" His voice was angry, but his eyes showed care. "Do you seriously think I would leave you in danger?"

She stayed speechless, and he pulled his hand from her grasp.

"Plagg, claws out!" His kwami screamed, awakening from his slumber and being dragged into his ring. Green magic flowed around him as he turned into his alter ego, Chat Noir.

As his transformation transitioned, Marinette felt her breath leave her chest. _This was real. Adrien was Chat... The boy I love..._ "C-Chat Noir..."

He grabbed her close, and lifted her up by her thighs with one hand.

Marinette stammered, "C-Chat, I don't think-"

Chat Noir ignored her cries and used his bo staff to extend to the roof. Still carrying her in his grasp, he started to run. She buried her face in his neck without thinking, holding on for dear life. Yet, even in this dire situation, all she could think of was how her body was flush against his. _Not the time, not the time, NOT THE TIME-_

They finally reached his house, he sat her down on his bed and locked the door to his room. "Stay here, Mari." He went to the window, about to leave, when she spoke.

"Maybe I can help, maybe I can go with you." _Maybe I could just show him._

"No. Absolutely not."

"But-"

"I need you to be safe, You'll just distract me." He looked back, his eyes desperate, almost pleading. "Please."

Marinette nodded and smiled gently, "Okay... I'll stay here, I promise."

Chat stepped up to the window, hesitated for a second whilst glancing back to her, and ran out quickly.

Tikki flew out of her coin purse and looked at her confused, "You're not really going to stay here, right?"

"Marinette might. But certainly not Ladybug." She smirked, standing up and going into the restroom, locking it behind her. "Tikki, spots on!"

A bright pink light glowed throughout the bathroom as she turned into her alter-ego, then jumped out the window. Her yo-yo extended, and as she grappled from house to house and street to street, she helped the people in the streets from the water. It wasn't as bad as that one mermaid villain, but still, it was problematic. She ran from rooftop to rooftop, and finally found Chat fighting the akuma.

Chat grunted as he was hit by a strong burst of water which sent him flailing down the street. He groaned, standing up. "Where is-"

"Chat Noir!" Ladybug landed next to her partner. "I'm here. Are you okay?" She looked him up and down for injuries.

Chat raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. "I'm fine. Though water isn't exactly my favorite, I can deal, M'lady."

Smirking, she shook her head. "That my kitty." She heard a shout and her eyes refocused on the akuma. "We need to come up with a plan. Where do you think the akumas in?"

"My bets on that shiny fork he keeps waving around." The akuma marched down the street and away from Ladybug and Chat, turning people who weren't hiding away into water minions with his trident.

"Let's find out. I think we just have to get you close enough and we could be done in a jiffy."

"In a hurry, m'lady?"

Ladybug flicked the bell on his chest playfully, "Well, as much as I love hanging out with my partner in crime, I'd rather not fight an akuma-possessed person. Now, let's get this over with."

She walked toward the akuma as Chat Noir furrowed his eyebrows. They had always had teasing banter, but this seemed a little different. More flirtatious? He shook his head, and followed his lady into battle.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She threw the broken trident in the air, and grinned as everything was brought back to normal. Ladybug smiled wide, and then pounded Chat Noir's fist. "Pound it!"

Chat Noir helped the man up, who was already struggling to breathe. He looked to his love, "I should get this guy to a hospital, he seems to be having a tough time breathing."

"Yeah. You probably have a better chance of not transforming back than me right now." Ladybug smiled, then went to hug him. "Be careful."

Chat Noir instinctively hugged her back although surprised at the action. "What was that for?"

Ladybug pulled back, "Just be careful, okay?"

"Always am, m'lady." With a small bow, Chat Noir was on his way.

Ladybug watched him leave, and sighed. "How am I falling for such a goof?" Hearing her earrings beep, her eyes widened. "Oh crap! I gotta get to Adrien's before I transform back!"

Swinging her yo-yo, she went on her way to Adrien's as fast as she could. "I can do it, I can do it, I- AGH!"

Ladybug screamed as a bird flew into her face, and she fell onto the street with a loud thud. "Jesus, why?" She stood up, groaning. "That hurt so much-"

Another beep rang in her ears and she squeaked as she ran behind the nearest ad tube **(wtf are those things called?!) **and transformed back without anyone seeing. "Phew, that was close."

Marinette shook her head, and decided to run back to Adrien's. If she couldn't make it through being Ladybug, she'd have to make it on foot.

Her flats hit the pavement lightly, the hard cement bruising her feet through the light material as she ran through the streets of Paris. She saw Adrien's house in the distance, and grinned. "Almost there- oop!" **[And I- OOP]**

Her arms and knees hit the pavement harshly, and she hissed in pain. "Damn it." She stood up, her clothes dirty and slightly torn. "Adrien will know I left…"

She disregarded her injuries, and ran (albeit slightly slower), to the Agreste mansion. She rang the bell quickly, trying to regain her breath as she waited for someone to answer. The camera pulled out not a minute later, "Who is this?"

Marinette put on a smile, "Hi, I'm a friend of Adrien's. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I came by to help him with a project we're working on."

Reluctantly, Nathalie made a disapproving sound. Marinette pleaded, "I'll be in and out, promise!"

The gate opened and the young teenager beamed. "Thank you!"

She ran in, making her way up the stairs, and went to open the door. "Finally-"

It was locked. She groaned. "Seriously!"

She leaned on the door, sighing. _Adrien might get upset at her, and now she would look terrible in front of her crush and-_

The door opened, and Marinette made an incomprehensible noise as she fell backwards into Adrien's body. "Marinette? I thought I told you not to leave?" Adrien helped her up and looked at her confused.

Giggling shyly, Marinette's hand flew to the back of her neck. "It's kind of embarrassing, but I went exploring the mansion and I kind of got lost. And then I kind of fell, and then I realized I accidentally locked myself out and-"

Putting a hand on her shoulder, Adrien smiled. "It's okay to be curious, Marinette. I don't-"

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked her up and down. "You hurt yourself." Pulling her, he closed and locked the door, then lead her to his restroom.

"Adrien, I'm fine. It happens all the time- ah!" He suddenly picked her up and placed her on the bathroom counter. He then leaned down and got the first aid kit under the sink.

"Just let me help you, okay Marinette?" He stood straight again, and soaked a cotton ball with alcohol. "You're always so clumsy…"

"Yeah, that's me, heh." She shrugged, used to it by now. Adrien grabbed her leg gently, and she bit her lip. _Okay, this can't be happening right now._

He smiled at her, then gently pressed the ball against her scraped knee. She hissed in pain, her hand flew to his shoulder instinctively, and she clenched her jaw. _"Adrien, it stings." This wasn't exactly how I imagined groaning his name aloud to him, but beggars can't be choosers._

"Relax, Mari. It'll go away." She frowned, and her lip ended up bleeding a bit by the time he had finished putting bandages on her scrapes.

"Thank you, Adrien." She hopped off the counter, landing by his side. "Um, this is kind of awkward, but do you have any clothes I can borrow. Mine are kind of tattered, and I don't want my parents to-"

Adrien cut her off, and his lips formed a small smile as he spoke, "No problem. I'm pretty sure I have something you can borrow, let me just check... " He walked out of the bathroom, towards his dresser, grabbing his favorite hoodie and a random pair of joggers. He walked over to the bathroom and handed them to Marinette, "I think they'll fit you; if not, let me know, okay?"

"I'll give them back as soon as possible-"

"It's fine, Marinette. As a matter of fact, you could keep them if you want to."

Marinette blushed, "A-Are you sure? I mean-"

"I'm sure." He smiled reassuringly, and closed the door for her as he exited out of the restroom.

She looked down at the clothes in her hands, and slightly blushed. _I'm going to be wearing Adrien's clothes, and they smell just like him too… like when he cradled me close to his chest… Jesus, I need help. _She took off her clothes, folded them, and put on Adrien's clothes. The hoodie was warm, and the joggers were straight up comfy, but both were baggy and tugged on Marinette's heartstrings. _I'm at Adrien's house, wearing his clothes. God, I'm hopeless. _She self-consciously looked in the mirror, grabbing lip-gloss from her purse and re-applying it. Tikki peeked out, "Are we leaving yet?"

Marinette squeaked, then responded in a hushed whisper, "You scared the crap out of me!"

"Sorry, but when are we leaving?"

Marinette pursed her lips, "I don't know, okay? Now get in the bag…" She put her lip-gloss back in the purse, and snapped it shut. Opening the door, she grabbed her coin purse and clothes, setting them on the dresser. "Adrien?"

"Over here." She saw him just walk in with a tray of croissants in hand, and smiled. "Sorry, figured you'd want a snack."

"No, you're fine. Just- yeah." She awkwardly laughed, and sat on his bed. He sat beside her, and offered one. She took it, hungry after the day's events. "Your hoodie is nice, by the way."

He smiled, "Thanks, it's actually my favorite."

Marinette's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "Wait, then, why'd you give it to me?"

"Why not?" Adrien quipped, smirking at her as he took another croissant from the tray between them. Their conversation was light and lasted hours, the topic going from the akuma, to video games, then to their homework, and more.

Marinette giggled, "Wait, so Chloe actually did that for you when you were little? I cannot imagine that from her..."

Adrien laughed, "Yeah, I know she's changed a lot. But I know how she truly is, and that's what matters."

She smiled softly, "Yeah, you're right. We may have our moments, but… I know how kind she can be, even if it isn't towards me."

"Hahah, I don't get it. You're the kindest person I know."

Her cheeks reddened, "I beg to differ."

"What do you mean?" Adrien set the tray on the floor, and looked at her quizzically.

"Well, clearly, you've never met you." Marinette's hand brushed against his that lay on the bed, and she looked down in surprise. Adrien looked down too, and enveloped her hand in his, hesitantly. Almost as if testing how it would feel, and his fingers then intertwined with hers, deciding as if it was worth it. His green eyes found hers, and their hearts hammered against their chests. Marinette subconsciously bit her lip, and instantly his eyes focused on them. Their faces seemed to drift closer ever so slowly, and Adrien rested his forehead against hers, releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Mari…"

_She didn't want to look up at him, she didn't want to look into those beautiful green eyes._

"Princess?"

_Because she knew…_

His hand cradled her cheek, and his thumb grazed her bottom lip. "Look at me, princess."

She stayed quiet, and cuddled her face into the crook of his neck. Adrien sighed, "It's getting late, I think I should take you home."

"Wait...what time is it?" Marinette scrambled up awkwardly, grabbing her coin purse for her phone. She clicked her phone and groaned as she saw a couple of missed calls from her parents. "Yeah, if I start walking now, maybe I could-"

"Plagg, claws out!" Marinette gasped, turning around as she saw the boy of her dreams glow green as leather enveloped his body.

"Adrien, what are you doing?"

The blonde boy smirked at her, walking towards the open window, and stood out on the ledge. He looked back, and held out his hand. "Do you trust me?"

Marinette giggled, "Are you seriously quoting Aladdin right now?"

Adrien's smirk grew, "_Do you trust me?"_

She walked up, smirked and rolled her eyes, putting her hand in his. "With my life."

He laughed, suddenly picking her up by her waist as her arms wrapped around his neck. "Then hold on tight, Princess."

Her giggle rang loud, and he extended his baton, jumping from building to building. His jokes and her quips eased the tension from earlier away, making it disappear quickly. As he took her home, neither could explain to themselves what their hearts tugged for, neither could even understand what they felt. Almost in sync, their hearts swelled with something, something unconditional. Something indescribable. Something pure.

_Do I still love Ladybug...?_ Adrien pondered as his chest became slightly breathless, his gaze on the raven-haired girl's smile, loving almost every second they spent together on the way to her home. _Will I ever love Marinette? I'm looking too much into it... We're just friends... Right?_

They landed on her balcony with a light thud, and she slowly untangled herself from him. "I guess this is goodnight, Chat Noir."

He smiled, "I guess it is, m'lady. See you tomorrow?"

She bit her lip, then suddenly enveloped him in her arms. "Chat… Adrien…"

"Mari?" His hands laid at her waist, and his chest filled with warmth and anticipation.

Marinette looked up at him, she gulped at the anticipation in his green orbs and finally spoke:

"Adrien… kitty... I'm... I think I'm in love with you..."

**YO THAT WAS INTENSE 0_0 bruhhh just wait the following chapters finna be worth it oof MARICHAT FOR THE WIN**


	4. Chapter 4 : First Kiss

**Uncovered Mask**

"_**If "I love you" was a promise**_

_**Would you break it, if you're honest**_

_**Tell the mirror what you know she's heard before**_

_**I don't wanna be you anymore"**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_She bit her lip, then suddenly enveloped him in her arms. "Chat… Adrien…"_

_"Mari?" His hands laid at her waist, and his chest filled with warmth and anticipation._

_Marinette looked up at him, she gulped at the anticipation in his green orbs and finally spoke:_

_"Adrien… kitty... I'm... I think I'm in love with you."_ Her hands went up to wrap around his neck, slightly hesitant. She got on her tiptoes, pressing her lips close to his. _It was the perfect moment..._ Which was why he couldn't do this. Chat Noir pulled away, and Marinette's eyes opened and looked up in confusion. "Chat?"

"I'm sorry, Mari. Not while I'm like this..." He turned, stepping onto the railing and about to leave.

She grabbed his shoulder and made him face her, "Then do it as Adrien Agreste, the normal boy at school."

"But I'm still in love with-"

"I'm okay with that!" The raise of her voice startled him, she almost seemed angry, but her eyes softened at his slight flinch.

"Chat... Adrien. You're both one in the same. Either way, I'm still in love with you, Adrien."

"Mari..." Adrien didn't know if he could ever love her... Her desperation made him sad for her, he knew her feelings... After all, it's what he felt for Ladybug.

"I've been falling in love with you since the first day of high school. And, just one kiss wouldn't hurt. Right?" Her eyes started to tear up as they stared at the floor, the possibility of rejection running shivers down her spine. Her gaze shifted up at the sight of a green light and she gasped as Adrien Agreste now stood before her. He jumped off the railing, towards her, and placed his hand on her cheek.

"Just one..." His hand trailed her cheek down to her lips, and her breath hitched. He slowly leaned in, his lips inching closer and closed her eyes, waiting ever-so-eagerly. Both of their hearts started to beat like never before, the cold weather of the night fading away in their little bubble of heat. Their lips lightly grazed upon one another, and as he was about to devour her lips into his-

-The balcony trap door opened suddenly, revealing the sight of the two teenagers in an embrace to a bewildered Alya. "Marinette? Adrien?! Oh my God!"

Marinette pulled away from her crush suddenly, almost tripping on her own two feet, but Adrien caught her quickly. "Careful!"

Hanging onto Adrien's shoulders for balance, Marinette stuttered. "Alya! W-What are you doing here?"

Alya, now standing in front of the two blushing teenagers as Adrien held her arms in his hands, keeping her balanced, scoffed. Not to mention that Marinette was obviously wearing Adrien's clothes. "What I'd like to know is what _you two_ are doing here? You haven't called or texted me since Friday, Marinette, and I can clearly see why."

"We- Well, we were-" She stuttered, she still didn't know exactly what they were. _Was this just a hangout, were we on a date? We almost kissed..._ Her mind was racing, and her brain could barely form a coherent thought.

"We were just on a date. I had asked her out." She looked up at his crush in surprise, and blushed as he smiled in an innocent manner towards Alya.

Marinette's best friend raised an eyebrow towards her, "Is that right?"

Only being able to release a squeak from her lips, she just nodded frantically. "Mmhm!"

The tan girl smirked at the two, "Oh wow, and I thought you two would never date. It's about time."

Marinette blushed even harder, almost her whole face turned as red as a tomato. Adrien slightly smiled to himself, _she's really liked me for that long?_ The thought alone almost made his cheeks turn warm. _Almost._

"Sorry, I didn't text you for a while, Alya. I was-"

"Busy? Yeah, I can see that." She chuckled and shook her head with a grin plastered on her face. "Just come inside when you two are done. I want all the details." With that, she went back inside and closed the hatch.

Marinette immediately turned to him, "I would never tell-"

"I know, I can trust you." His hands held hers and briefly smiled.

"But what will we-"

"Don't worry, I'll be the one doing the talking, Mari. She'll never suspect a thing."

Marinette nodded, and as he started to walk away from her, she suddenly pulled him back and planted a kiss to his cheek in a hurry. Smirking at his dazed look, she slightly giggled and opened the hatch, running down the stairs.

Adrien blinked, "M-Marinette..."

"So you're telling me, you guys have been hanging out ever since yesterday, and Adrien spontaneously just decided to ask you out of nowhere to go out with him?"

"Well, in a sense, yeah..." Adrien and Marinette nodded in sync, and Alya laughed.

"Listen, I know I don't know the full story... And I probably won't ever will. But whatever happened, I'm glad it did. Cause _finally_ you two are going out, _right_?"

"Oh, well, not yet- I mean-"

"We're still just testing the waters a little." His hand slipped into hers, and his thumb gently massaged back and forth, reassuring the raven-haired girl he held so dear.

Alya smirked, noticing then suddenly turned serious and narrowed her eyes at the young boy. "You hurt her, I'll hurt you."

"I understa-"

"Really bad. I'm so serious, I will hurt you like there is no tomorrow."

"Alya-"

"I know how to make things look like an accident, Adrien. I'm serious about-"

"I would never dream of hurting her, Alya. I'm serious about this too, trust me." Adrien's hand gripped around hers, and Marinette bit her lip as she glanced at him and then to Alya.

"Alya, we just started. Maybe you shouldn't lay so much pressure on him. Besides, it's really late at night, you guys should really start heading home."

"No, no, no. You don't get to blow me off any longer. _Adrien_ can go home, _I'm_ going to stay the night. With you." Both blue and green eyes widened as the boy was rushed out of the bakery, and Alya smirked at Marinette as they were finally alone in her room.

_"Tell me everything."_

Sunday came in minutes, but it was only midnight. Marinette and Alya laid on her bed, talking about the boys in their mind.

"He's just so charming, and witty, and so, so-"

"Perfect?"

"No." Surprised by her answer, Alya looked at her best friend confused.

"What do you mean? He's Adrien Agreste... the boy of your dreams."

"Nobody's perfect, Alya, but that's exactly what I love about him."

"It's nice to know he's cleared more of your perspective about him..."

Marinette smiled blissfully, "It feels nice too, heh."

"So, what're your plans for today? You two meeting today?"

"Actually, I don't know. But we text a lot, so..."

"Well, you guys should! That's the basis for any relationship."

Marinette giggled, "No duh, Alya. What about you and Nino? Anything juicy?"

"Ugh, sadly, no. I mean, I'm in love with him of course, and I know he loves me too, but… he hasn't kissed me."

The raven-haired girl gasped, sitting up and looking at her friend incredulously, "Wait! You're kidding, right?"

"Dude, I wish. We've only kissed a couple times, but even then it's like small pecks or close-lipped. I want something more… you know? I'm almost 18, and I'm pretty sure I'm one of the only kids in college that hasn't done anything remotely sexual."

"Well, to be fair, our college is weird in general, so trust. You're not the only one, and of course you have me, the most extra virgin olive oil ever."

Alya laughed, "I know right? I still can't believe Gabriel Agreste turned our high school into a small college just so his son couldn't go out of the country. Dude is super paranoid."

Marinette shrugged, "To be honest, I'm kinda glad we didn't really have to move away from our families and all. Plus, as long as our attendance sheet isn't too bad, it's free."

"Crazy how rich someone can be."

"Imagine I marry Adrien, and then maybe we could start our own little fashion business, and travel the world-"

Alya's phone beeped, and it showed that Alya's mom was calling, "Sorry, it's my mom. I'll see if she wants me to go home, but we can talk more about this later, okay?"

Marinette's friend left the room, and she was left to her own thoughts. _Chat... Adrien... We almost kissed. And Alya caught us. Would I really have been okay with him kissing me, even without any feelings? I seemed morbid, and even a little desperate._

Alya strolled in a couple minutes later, and gave her friend a hug. "I gotta go home, but we can talk more in the morning, okay?"

"Sounds good, Alya."

Her friend left, and she sat down in the bed. "God, talk about a tiring day."

Tikki stirred from her coin purse, and flew out, collapsing on Marinette's pillow. "Yeah, can't wait to sleep." Now a minute later, the two dozed off.

Suddenly, Marinette heard a huge commotion outside and immediately sprang up, "What's going on..."

She turned on her TV and gasped when she saw yet another villain smashing the famous Eiffel Tower. "Tikki!"

The kwami flew next to her in a rush, waking up from her small nap, "Marinette?"

"Sorry, no time to explain. Tikki, spot's on!"

_Half an hour earlier..._

The couple sat together, he smiled down at her and she smiled back. "So babe, what did you want to tell me?"

The woman, took a deep breath, and stood up, nervous and slowly kneeled before him. "I know we've only known each other for a little, and some people would say its a bit unorthodox for me to propose to you as a girl, but..."

Out of her box, came a small silver box with a golden ring inside it. "I really love you, with all my heart. And I'd like to know if you would marry me, and be with me for as long as we live?"

For a second, everything was still in the chill brisk of the early morning. She smiled, her palms sweaty as he sat speechless.

"Well, my love? What do you say?"

"I love you." They grinned at each other, and he stood embracing her as she giggled.

"So you'll marry me?"

"Of course!" He slipped the ring on, and kissed her deeply. The joy in their chests was indescribable, but was it was that the fear in their chests also increased as she was suddenly ripped out of his arms.

"Laura!" He screamed, his throat sore now and tears spilling down. It was an akuma, and all he could do was wait for the heroes to retrieve his fiance.

Adrien gulped as the villain smirked deviously from the top of the tower. The reporter had zoomed in on his face as he screamed, and even from the confinement in his room, he felt the menacing vibrations of his chaos

"Bring your miraculous here, Ladybug and Chat Noir! Or she will turn into nothing!"

He shook his head, his mouth turning into a snarl, and extended his arm. "Plagg, claws out!"

"Wha- AH!"

Chat landed next to Ladybug, the two of them staring up at the minion of their malicious enemy.

"Let her go!" Ladybug, in her fighting stance, growled up at the captor as he dangled the victim from the top. Chat glanced her way, his chest aching at the sight of her, but he remained his gaze on the task at hand.

"I am Retriever. And whatever HawkMoth desires, I shall do!"

Ladybug scoffed, and the two superheroes proceeded to go towards him. Using Chat as a distraction, Ladybug grabbed the woman escorting her to her fiance. Returning, she was hurdled against the wall suddenly. She stood up, running back to help her superhero ally. She saw Chat Noir look to her as she returned, and she screamed when she saw the villain smirk as he raised his sword.

"Chat Noir, look out!"

The superhero didn't even grunt in pain as he was thrown through a building, and the world seemed to pause for Ladybug as she heard nothing from her partner.

_"NO!"_ A lump had seemed to grow in her throat, and she glared back at the akumatized civilian. Grabbing Chat, she placed him on the roof of a random building, and quickly assessed him for injuries. Luckily, it was just a few scrapes and bruises, but he was still out cold. She kissed his forehead, "I'll come back for you, Adrien..."

She frowned as she returned to the battlefield and the villain merely laughed at her, "Lucky Charm!"

A wrench fell in her hands, and she huffed. "God, who decides these things…"

She ran at the akuma, and screamed.

Getting the job done using the help of the wrench, she de-evilized the akuma and set it free. With the task at hand over, she ran over to Chat Noir. "Chat? Chat! Wake up..."

His eyes, barely open, saw a worried Ladybug on top of him. "My... M'Lady..." His eyes closed, his brain going in and out of consciousness.

He heard beeping, and opened his eyes once again only to see Marinette standing over him. "Marinette... Where is she? Where is my lady?"

Chat tried to sit up, but groaned, his eyes looking around for his love.

"Chat..."

"Did she... She left me..." He let his head fall back to the ground, and faded into sleep once again., her voice fading away into an echo.

"Chat, stay with me... Please."

Hawk Moth smirked to himself in his lair, seeing the spectacle of Marinette dragging Chat Noir to her home and smirked to himself, "Chat Noir... and Marinette Dupein-Cheng? Oh, this will be fun..."

"Nathalie!" After transforming back, he went downstairs, looking for his assistant. "Nathalie, come this instant!"

Nathalie came rushing in, slightly flushed, "Yes, Mr. Agreste?!"

"I have plans. First, call my son and get his whereabouts. Second, we're throwing a masquerade party." He walked down the stairs towards the area by the front door as Nathalie followed him, and he smirked. "Also, invite everyone from my son's school, especially Marinette Dupain-Cheng. We already know that Ladybug and Chat Noir are in that age range since they fraternize with teenagers, all we need to do is find them and corner them at the party. Perhaps even an akuma could force them to reveal themselves."

Nathalie smiled, "As always, a brilliant plan, sir."

Gabriel stopped, a small smile on his lips as he turned to glance at his assistant. "Of course."

"Sir?" Nathalie grabbed his shoulder, looking down. "If I may…"

He turned around fully, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close. "I love Emilie, and I always will. But for the time being, Nathalie…" His hand grazed her cheek, and she smirked.

"Of course, sir."

"_Call me Gabriel."_

Ladybug grunted as she laid her partner on her bed-like futon at the center of her room. "God, you're so heavy, kitty."

He lay unconscious and sprawled across her furniture. Ladybug frowned. "Tikki, spots off."

"Marinette?" Tikki sat on her shoulder, worried about her miraculous holder.

Marinette walked downstairs, rushing towards her parent's bathroom, "I need something to cool him down, his temperature is a little too high."

"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki flew by her, concerned for her emotional well-being.

"I'm fine, I just need to make sure he's okay." She ran inside, grabbed a towel, soaked a folded towel, and ran upstairs. She walked in, running to his side quickly. She pressed the towel against his forehead, and sighed in relief. "You'll be okay…"

Adrien Agreste opened his eyes to Marinette's face as she wiped his forehead with a cool towel. Still dazed, he seemed confused. "What the..."

She pulled away, blushing. "Sorry, I just- You had a fever..." She went to wipe his forehead again when he gripped her arm suddenly and threw it away from her, staring intensely into her eyes.

"How did I get here?" When she didn't answer right away, he tried to sit up. He groaned, his back was sore. She placed her hand on his shirtless chest, gently pushing him down again. His leather suit was zipped down slightly, allowing him to cool down from his earlier temperature.

"Just lay down, you were hurt earlier... You need to rest." They looked into each other's eyes, her hand still on his hot- in both temperature and looks- abdomen. She swallowed, the tension so thick in the air. _What is he thinking?_

"How did I get here?"

Without hesitation, she responded, "Ladybug helped me get you here. You were hurt in battle…"

"You're hiding something from me... Tell me."

"I don't know what you're talking about-"

"I can tell by the way you won't even look at me... So don't play dumb."

"I seriously don't know-"

He sat up, angry, and she looked up, slightly scared yet _not_. "Tell me..." Adrien rested his cool forehead against hers, his lips now inches from her, and Marinette's lungs felt as if they were dying. "Please."

"I want to, trust me, but I can't!"

"Well, why not?!"

"Because I love you, and if I tell you, it won't be safe for you anymore!"

"Just tell me, Marinette!"

"Adrien, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you!"

"You're holding back from me Marinette..." The tears welled up in his eyes and she struggled to hold back her words. "I know it, don't lie to me. Don't hold back from me. _Don't be like her..._"

The words were like knives to her core, but she looked up at him desperately. "Why can't you just trust me? Just trust that whatever I'm not telling you is for your best interest, Adrien..."

It seemed forever that they stared in each others eyes, but everything seemed to fall apart with what he uttered next.

"I can't..." He pulled away, getting up off the bed, saddened, feeling his heart break as he did this.

She sat up and looked up at him as he headed for the hatch in her room, confused, "But I-"

"I'm sorry." He turned, bending down to open the hatchet and leave her.

"No." She stood up and grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him around rudely to face her in anger. "Believe it or not, it's harder for me than it is for you."

"How so? You couldn't possibly feel anything close to what I feel." She scoffed at his statement, and let him go as she glared at him.

"I know what it feels like to have the one you love never even give you a chance, to never be able the have them look you in the eye with the love you look at them..."

Adrien cast his gaze to the floor, almost as if ashamed.

"And for them to love someone else? That _really_ hurts, but you don't know what that feels like, do you? You only know rejection..."

"I love you Adrien, but you already know that." She raised an eyebrow, "So leave if you want, but don't make it seem like you're the only one who got hurt here."

He chuckled to himself sarcastically, "Can't believe I'm doing this..."

"What-" She looked up at him confused, and in a split second, the tension had shifted to something more. The way he looked at her, and now the way he walked over to her, and the way he grabbed her face with one hand and pulled her closer by the waist with the other was all part of it. Something had changed between the two...

_But everything changed when his lips met hers._

**Okay, let's keep in mind, even though I didn't announce it during the first chapter, EVEN THOUGH IT WON'T BE ***_***THAT**_* **TYPE OF FANFICTION, anything like kissing or sexual tension is because I imagine them to be older. At least seventeen, or at the most, eighteen.**

**Now that we have that aside, IT GOT STEAMY. Ooh I'm excited for the next chapter!**

**Hope you liked it! That took forever...**

_**Asylum 3**_


	5. Chapter 5 : Repulsion

***Uncovered Mask***

***WARNING THIS CHAPTER GETS SAUCYY***

"_**I **__**wanna lay here, lost and bitter,**_

_**So long, I feel like I could die,**_

_**I wanna tell you what my truth is,**_

_**But it's buried down inside…"**_

**~Chapter Five~**

_But everything changed when his lips met hers._

They pulled away, looking in each others eyes almost as if searching for acceptance. Adrien kissed her again, this time harder and with more passion. Marinette gladly accepted it.

Before they knew it, his hands were in her hair, her hands gripped his back and she groaned into his mouth as she was pressed against the wall. His hands went to hold her hips, the only thing actually holding her up was him and his hands that roughly grasped onto her thighs, leaving slight red marks through his joggers. Adrien propelled his leg to hold her up, and took off his, or now its hers, hoodie off her. She only had an undershirt, so at first, she was shy of having her skin revealed, but as Adrien's lips went down to her neck, all caution thought left her mind as her eyelids fluttered closed and her mouth opened in a silent moan. His teeth nicked at her sensitive skin while his lips sucked at it, not caring if he left a mark. If anything, he _wanted_ to leave one… Marinette held his face in her hands and suddenly made him look at her, as if telling him to slow down. _To savor the moment..._

She leaned in and smiled with genuine joy. She couldn't believe it, Adrien Agreste was kissing _her_. "I don't deserve this..."

Speechless at her beauty and her comment, he felt his chest tighten at the love in her eyes and barely had the clear mind to process her words. Before he could answer, she kissed him again slowly taking time to explore each other's mouths. Their hearts soared, and he suddenly chuckled. Marinette looked at him confused and he shook his head with a grin, "If anyone is unworthy, it's me."

She scoffed and was about to reply when he suddenly turned around and threw her on her pink, and soft futon. "Ah! Adrien!"

He slowly climbed on her bed playfully on all fours, giving her a smoldering look that made her core chill in anticipation. He smirked at her as she bit her lip, "What? Cat got your tongue?"

She giggled and grabbed him by the collar, flicking his cat bell for a second,then sitting up and pulling him close to her, having him on top of her. She whispered seductively, "Not yet, actually. I don't know what my_ kitty_ is waiting for."

Adrien practically purred at Marinette and his hands found their way to her hips once again, pushing her down on her back. He looked at her, practically drinking her in as he undressed her with his intense, greeneyes. _"Purrfect..."_

She blushed under his stare and then he leaned in, planting a sweet and savoring kiss upon her pink full lips. He groaned into the kiss, and pulled away for a second, "Wait."

She pulled away, panting. "What is it?"

He smiled, "Can't have any of this magic leather standing in the way, can we?" He caressed her cheek as he spoke, "Plagg, claws in."

Marinette frowned, _she hadn't thought of Tikki. Hopefully, she went downstairs to the empty house and away from us. _Plagg blinked, recognizing them and recognizing the situation. He rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna go find Tikki."

She giggled as Adrien chuckled, and leaned in again to capture her lips with hers. She gasped when his hands wandered under her shirt, only touching and caressing her back as he kissed her deeply and laid on top of her. Yes, his hands were wandering, but he made sure not to go far, _he could never live with himself if something bad had happened between them in the future and he had taken 'advantage'. _Marinette slowly peeled away his white jacket, and bit his bottom lip as she pulled away from the kiss, and pecked down his jaw, kissing and starting to suckle on his neck.

Adrien groaned, "Oh god..."

She giggled, nibbling on him, and when he finally stopped exclaiming since he got used to the feeling, she playfully bit him on the shoulder and he practically growled her name in a warning tone. "Marinette..."

"Adrien?"

He suddenly pulled away, pinning her arms above her head and he scowled and looked at her in the most lustful yet adoration-filled way, "Don't push it, princess."

"And if I do?" She smirked, loving the somewhat power shift and what she was doing to him. To tease him, she slightly rolled her hips upwards and he slightly shivered.

"Trust me, you won't be able to handle it..." That sentence had left her breathless, but she simply grinned and raised an eyebrow.

"Wanna bet?" She leaned up, inching closer and he simply shook his head, grinning. He leaned in, giving her one more kiss, slow and simple before he lay beside her, large sheepish smiles plastered on both faces.

"Adrien?"

"Yes?"

"I love you..."

Adrien stayed silent, but nonetheless reached for Marinette's hand, and they intertwined fingers. Neither said a word, almost afraid to break the special moment. And so it was, that they had fallen asleep that evening holding each other.

Marinette turned onto her pillow, but it felt harder than usual. She opened her eyes, and slightly lifted her head. Her blue orbs widened, it was Adrien's chest. She had almost forgotten about last night, and she yawned. "That was not expected."

Adrien stretched, waking up at the movement and chuckled, his morning voice hoarse, "Morning, Marinette." He rolled over, smiling at her whilst still half-asleep.

"Morning, kitty." She ruffled his hair, and laughed. She sat up to stretch, and groaned, "Is the fever gone?"

"I guess, yeah, I feel way better." He stood up, getting off the bed and went to his to get his jacket for his phone. He pulled it out, and his eyes widened when he checked the time. "Marinette, we're late for school, we gotta go!"

"Oh, crap!" She jumped up, almost falling but managed not to. They took turns showering and dressing -without looking- and ran out the house, running by Marinette's parents too quickly for them to notice the teenage boy's presence.

They rushed down the street with their hands joined, and when they had barged into the classroom, they had forgotten their hands were held together and almost the whole class gasped. Both of the teenagers blushed, the teacher scolding them for being late as well. They sat in their designated seats, staying silent as their best friends smugly smiled at both of them.

Alya looked to Marinette, "Did you two-"

Nino raised an eyebrow at his best friend, "Did you guys-"

In unison, they disrupted the class with their answers:

"Of course not!"

"No, Nino!"

The teacher looked at them, frowning as a sign of warning.

"Sorry..."

"It won't happen again, miss."

School passed by quickly, the only abnormal thing being Chloe being grumpier and meaner than usual. All day, she complained about the two teenagers, and it nerved them, but they got through it together.

Gabriel Agreste sat in his office, through the book of that held all the secrets _and_ answers to the miraculous. He got a beep on his intercom, indicating his assistant Natalie wanting to speak to him.

"Speak, Natalie."

"Well, it says here you wanted to get Nathaniel to- well-"

"Whatever it says, Natalie, it means that I had put it there."

"But-"

"But what, Natalie?"

"Are you sure you want to do this to Marinette, Mr. Agreste?"

"Yes."

"But what for, may I ask?"

"Don't ask questions, just do what you're told."

He hung up on her, muttering to himself. "Incompetent girl..."

After school, the four best friends had walked out of the building happily and chattering about the developing relationship between Adrien and Marinette.

Nino chuckled and shook his head at the blonde, "I can't believe it took you _that _long to finally ask her out."

Alya nodded in agreement, and the couple just blushed.

"Well, I'm glad he finally did." Marinette seemed to glow from happiness in the moment, smiling at her two closest friends and possible future boyfriend.

"Me too..." Laughing, Adrien pulled out his ringing phone to see it was his father. "Hey, guys, gotta take this. Be right back... Hello?"

The three nodded in understanding, and Marinette looked to Alya, seeing her blush slightly as Nino laughed at her joke. She elbowed her friend, and signaled her, shifting her eyes between Nino and her whilst making sure he didn't notice. Alya glared at her, but couldn't resist a small smile.

Adrien walked back with a wide grin, "Hey guys, guess what. You aren't gonna believe this..."

"What happened?" Marinette smiled back, looking confused along with her friends.

"Well, to my surprise, my dad is actually hosting a ball tonight."

Nino scoffed, "No way. You're joking, right man?"

Marinette gasped, "A ball? Wow, that's so formal… That means I have to go shopping."

"Nope. Completely telling the truth here." He grinned at the three whom were still in disbelief, but after a few seconds, Alya smiled.

"At least we'll have a chance to party! And on a school night? Even better!"

Nino smirked at the tan-skinned girl and draped an arm around her shoulder, "We're going together, right?"

"Of course, but we should discuss this later on, come with me dress shopping?"

"Sure."

Wrapped in their own little world, the tan couple walked away from the school.Adrien looked to her, and held Marinette's hands in hers and grinned, "You'll come with me to the ball, right?"

"Hmm..." Marinette pretended to ponder, "I don't know, I was honestly hoping to-"

He pulled her closer, raising an eyebrow, "You're kidding, right?"

Marinette giggled, "Nah, not really."

"I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Sure." She tried not to blush, but nevertheless she was ecstatic.

"It's a date." Adrien winked, and walked into his car where Gorilla was waiting for him. Squealing and excitingly ranting to Tikki the whole way, Marinette walked to the mall to search for a dress to blow her date's mind away.

She couldn't blink, she couldn't risk a look around her, or it'd all go to waste. This part was crucial and if gone wrong, would wreck every teenage girl's dream. The putting on of mascara was the most fatal part of increasing the beauty process, otherwise known as administering make-up.

With her tongue on her top lip, Marinette finished applying the last of her mascara on her eyelashes. "All done, what do you think, Tikki?"

She turned around with a bright, yet small smile. She had done her make-up in a natural way, slightly touching up her eyebrows and blush, and only adding the touch of pink lipgloss and, of course, mascara. She hadn't put her dress on yet, and for good measure too because she had made a mess of herself with all the fancy make-up materials.

Tikki beamed, "You look great, Marinette. I'm sure Adrien will love it! But, don't you think the red and black dre-"

"Don't worry, Tikki. No one would ever suspect clumsy, little Marinette." She laughed to herself, reassuring her kwami. The small red creature nodded, but frowned to herself as Marinette went to get herself dressed.

Adrien ruffled his hair as he grinned to himself, waiting for Marinette outside the bakery with a limo at their service. Plagg peaked out of his tux's pocket, "You seem eager."

"Yeah, I mean, for once it seems my dad is lightening up. Plus, all my friends will be there."

"_Including Marinette, huh?"_

"Well that's… That's complicated, right now. She's not _just_ a great friend, but-"

He stopped in mid-sentence, eyes widening and mouth agape. Plagg smirked, "Looks like someone is drooling~"

Marinette blushed, her rosy cheeks complimenting her dress. It was a two piece, her top a black sleeveless and lacy crop-top-like covering, and the bottom was tight but long, showing her curve and long legs with a split down the side. The color of red along with black polka dots absorbed in the fabric that was her dress. Her hair was done in a braided crown while the rest of her hair flowed down in a wild river of curls. Her bluebell eyes were enhanced with mascara, her lips shiny and appearing delectable with the gloss, and looking gorgeous overall.

He stuttered, "M-Marinette… You look, you look-"

Her hand went up to her hair, playing with one of the loose strands in self-consciousness as she looked at the ground. "I know, it looks like Ladybug, huh? I didn't mean to-"

His hand went to hers, taking it in his and gently grabbing her chin, making her eyes meet his. "No… All you remind me of is how much of a fool I've been with not realizing how you really are…"

"Well, you obviously dress to impress."

She bit her lip. The moment she had stepped out of the bakery, she had started internally screaming. Her eyes had raked over his black form, his tux making him look even more ravishing. His hair, even though normally neat, was only a little messier than usual yet looking formal at the same time. His shoes were converse and showing his childish, rebellious side. His green eyes sparkled in the sunlight, and as it set, it made them brighter as the two green orbs raked over her eyes.

"Oh please, m'lady. You flatter me."

She blushed at the comment, her eyes widening but her smile as well. They stood there, sharing a wondrous moment beneath the setting sun, a moment of lust, love, and amazement. Plagg scoffed, "Can you guys hurry up? I'm missing out on Camembert right now!"

Sighing, Adrien tucked Plagg away, triggering muffled screams. He then opened the limo door, and smiled. "Your chariot awaits, princess."

She giggled. "Off to the ball we go."

Adrien and Marinette had seemed to show up early. Going through the registration, they walked up the steps gracefully. Their ascend up seemed slower as she felt him place his hand on hers, and she blushed. The doors opened revealing an impassive Gabriel Agreste, still in his signature outfit. He seemed surprised for a moment to see the girl on the arm of his own son, but regained his posture immediately. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, in the arms of my very own son, Adrien Agreste. Why, I never thought I'd see the day."

She smiled politely, "Neither did I, sir. I-"

"Is she your girlfriend, Adrien?" Marinette refused to scoff at his disregard and only decided to remain smiling. _Which was very hard to do on her part._

The words hit Adrien fast and sharp, angering him from the disregard at Marinette, and almost as if wanting to test his answer, both Gabriel and her awaited his response. They weren't officially dating personally, but as far as everyone else knew, yes. _That was their cover, right? _Adrien himself didn't even know anymore... _He swallowed the lump in his throat, still calculating his answer. He didn't want to test his father, but instead decided to be honest. Honesty is the best policy, correct?_

"Yes, father. She is. That's okay, right?" Adrien stared up at his father, almost challenging him to be rude to his 'girlfriend'. As other guests walked by them, they seemed to share a silent argument before Gabriel Agreste sighed, then held out his hand to Marinette.

"Pleasure to meet you once again, Miss Dupain-Cheng. _Enjoy_ _your evening at the Agreste Mansion_." Again, she smiled and shook his hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Agreste. I certainly will." As the two teenagers walked away, he turned briefly and powered on his bluetooth to speak to his assistant,

"Nathalie, there's been a change of plans."

"What is it you want to do, sir?"

"Get me Chloe Bourgeois."

Her arm was in his when it came to both couples, their hearts conjoined in mind and spirit as they laughed at each other's silly jokes and puns. The four friends stood by the buffet tables, joking and laughing as the rest of the party guests danced and enjoyed themselves. It was a lively event and everyone had dressed up just for the occasion. Next to the dining room in the Agreste mansion, lied a huge ballroom with tables along the wall and only the best DJ, with his setup, on one side of the room money could buy. Alya had chosen an elegant yet casual dress, the slightly darker than orange shade complementing her features well. The dress itself plunged at the neck with a narrow V-like shape and tied at the waist, which she accessorized with a long necklace in the center of her chest and a brace around her upper arm. She had also pinned up her ombre hair in a bun, styled messily with a few strands framing her face. Her date, Nino had actually only dressed in a formal waistcoat, his vest silver and sleeves white, and an orange tie to match Alya, though not forgetting his signature headphones around his neck. He had his cap taken off and had actually styled and cut his hair, making his hair fade into a medium length and textured do. They complimented each other's looks upon first greeting, and then excitedly buzzed about all the things they wanted to accomplish at the party.

Conversation had strayed quickly, the group suddenly switching to the topic of what to eat on the friends' minds. The four went to grab plates and utensils, and as they wandered down the meals available to them, Alya's eyes widened at the sight of a purple bruise-like area just on the curve of where her neck and shoulder met. At first, she wanted to be discreet, but she smirked to herself as a small idea devised in her head. Suddenly, Marinette's best friend gasped, "Marinette! How could you, you heathen?"

The slight yell had caught a couple people's attention for a moment, but they turned back disinterested in the little scene. Alya rolled her eyes, being cautious to make sure nobody else saw. Adrien and Nino walked over, having been separated since letting the girls have first pick at the available food because of 'their chivalry'. Adrien furrowed his eyebrows and Nino placed a hand on the tan girl's shoulder, silently questioning her small outburst.

"Alya? What's wrong?" The raven-haired girl's furrowed in genuine concern. To her knowledge, she hadn't done anything wrong. At least, she didn't_ remember_ doing anything wrong.

The girl shook her head in mock disapproval, and crossed her arms as she smirked, then spoke quietly, "So, when exactly were you gonna tell me that Prince Charming over here likes to leave little love marks all over your neck?"

Both Adrien and Marinette immediately blushed, their red embarrassment creeping up their necks. They hadn't told them any of their… _encounters_, but as a best friend, Alya would at least want to know they've kissed. Nino only grinned at his girlfriend's remark, seeing through her little facade. _He really did love her._

Marinette squealed, "A-Alya! How can you be so blunt?"

Nino chuckled, "Oh, come on, dude, relax." His hand patted his blonde friend's, and smirked as well. "We're all friends here." He wasn't wrong, they were all friends. And friends loved to share little details like these with each other, not to brag, but to reminisce. Adrien hadn't informed Nino either, seeming to want to keep those things between themselves. He still didn't see the point or reason people shared those things with one another, it seemed ignominious.

"Besides, I'm your best friend. I _live_ for your embarrassment, as long as it's the good, funny kind." Alya patted her friend on the back, the two smiling at each other and continuing to pick their food. "We'll cover it up a little later, no one will notice for now."

When they had finished, as well as the boys, they stood around for an awkward moment, not sure where to sit and eat. Seeing four empty seats on a single table near the dance floor, Adrien led his friends there and sat with them. They started eating, making conversation every now and then, but solely focused on eating.

After finishing her food, she wiped her mouth and hands clean with a napkin, but still feeling a little dirty, she excused herself to the restroom. "I'll be right back, you guys."

About to enter the dinner area, Chloe Bourgeois stood in her way and she scoffed, crossing her arms. "What do you want, Chloe?"

She frowned, Sabrina by her side and looked Mari up and down, acting disgusted, "I don't want you sitting next to Adrikins, that's for sure."

Rolling her eyes, Marinette sighed, "If he really liked you, you shouldn't worry about that right now. Besides, I need to use the restroom, so…" She walked past, but Sabrina caught her arm, and frowned at her.

"You'll get what's coming to you, Dupain-Cheng." She shoved her off, and made her way outside the ballroom.

Marinette walked through the dining room, finding herself lost within the large house of the Agreste family. She finally found one small bathroom beneath the stairwell and proceeded to enter. Opening the door to the restroom, she went in, closing it behind her. She turned on the faucet, washing her hands and drying them. Turning off the sink, she smiled at her reflection and decided to fix her hair a little, but suddenly the restroom door burst open, scaring her. She turned, and looked at the intruder in confusion. "Nathaniel? What are you doing here?"

Over the years, Nathaniel had always kept his look, and only seemed to buff out a little bit. He was taller, leaner, and more tortured as a comic artist. He seemed to have it rough, but he was always a swell guy. Though, tonight was a different story.

Time went by slowly as he abruptly leaned in, pressing her against the wall next to the bathroom door, and anyone who walked in would definitely see. She squealed in surprise as his hands went to her hips, keeping her in place. His eyes seemed regretful, but that didn't seem to stop him from doing his placed her hands on top of his, trying to take them off her to no avail. "Nathaniel, please, stop. This isn't right. I don't want thi-"

His lips smashed against hers, cutting off her sentence and her screams, flailing and hitting his chest, struggling to be free of him. He only tried to kiss her deeper, his tongue pressing against her closed lips to explore her mouth, but she only squirmed more. Digging his nails into her side, she gasped in pain which caused his tongue to finally enter her mouth. She cringed, her eyes tearing up as she felt her arms be held by his, unable to move and unable to defend herself. His lips tasted like bitter wine, the cheap kind too. Marinette moved her arms, wriggling, doing anything to stop this.

From a bit away, Chloe smirked and zoomed in, taking a picture. "Adrikins won't be happy about this, but funny enough…" She typed in the famous fashion designer's number, and sent the image, as instructed. "Gabriel will."

***Well, well, now we're gonna keep some secrets for now… Sorry to do this, but for now we'll keep you guys in suspense!***

***Asylum 3***


	6. Chapter 6 : Confrontations

***Uncovered Mask***

**~Chapter Six~**

"_**Got a mood that you wish you could sell...**_

_**If teardrops could be bottled**_

_**There'd be swimming pools filled by models**_

_**Told a tight dress is what makes you a whore"**_

Adrien smiled to himself as he saw the two next to him argue slightly,_ tonight was a good night..._

He picked at his food, sighing happily, when he felt a hand on his shoulder that made him freeze in place, and made his skin grow cold.

"Adrien, a word…?"

It was his father's. Adrien stood up, excusing himself from his friends. He followed his father away from the ballroom, and he frowned as his father muttered something and handed him his phone.

Eventually, he pulled away and she coughed in disgust, breathing deeply the air her lungs had seemed to be deprived of for some time. She looked up at his smirking face, and got red in anger. Her hand smacked across his left cheek, "What is the matter with you?! How dare you even think I would _ever_-"

"Oh, please, Marinette. Everyone could see that hickey on the small on your neck from miles away. You practically begged for it." He sneered at her, then walked out leaving her close to tears. She closed the door, making sure to lock it this time, and dreadfully laid her eyes upon her reflection. Her hair was messy, and her dress seemed to be ruffled. She smoothed it down, breathing fast and deep, wanting to stay calm and refusing to let herself feel grief. She noticed a drop of a black watery substance on the sink counter. Looking up immediately, she let out a sob as she soon realized she had been crying.

Marinette hugged herself, unsure of what to do. Tikki flew out of her coin purse, and looked at her, worried. "Marinette? I heard what happened… I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything to stop it, but I-"

"It's okay, Tikki. I understand. We can't have anyone knowing I'm Ladybug, right?"

"That… isn't what I meant… I think you should tell someone, Marinette."

It made sense, it made the most sense she had heard someone say in a while. But her self-consciousness, her insecurity prevented her to even think about what had just happened. She didn't even want to process it, or acknowledge what even happened. She felt disgusted with herself, she felt dirty and wanted to clean herself a million times over and never stop, not even if her skin turned red with irritation. She shook her head, sobbing, "I don't want this to be a big deal, Tikki. I just want to forget it."

"Okay, I understand." The small creature cuddled her left cheek as she cried to herself. What was only about ten minutes, now felt like an eternity. After all her tears had escaped, she started to wash off her makeup. Washing off the smears and tidying her face up, she smiled at her reflection again, pretending for everything to be okay again, even though her chest felt aching pain. Walking back into the ballroom, she made her way back to her seat to notice Adrien was missing.

She looked to Alya and Nino who had been chatting, "Where's Adrien?"

"I don't know, girl. He was just here." Alya looked at Nino, and he shrugged as well. She took a quick glance around, and sighed.

"Marinette."

"Ah!" She jumped, and scowled behind her, back at her boyfriend, Adrien. She stood up to face him, and shook her head. But knowing herself, the minute he flashed a grin, she'd melt into goo.

He smiled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

She grinned as well, and shook her head, "No, it's fine. I was actually about to-"

"May I have this dance?" Bowing as took her hand in his, he placed a kiss on the back of it and looked up at her, his eyes full of hope. _But something didn't seem right..._ Finding herself hesitant, she looked skeptically at him, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Girl, what are you waiting for? Go dance."

"Yeah, Marinette, go for it." Hearing Alya and Nino's encouragement, she shrugged her intuition off.

"Of course." Holding her hand, he led her to the dance floor. There, he put his other hand on the small of her back, and pressed her closer. Marinette felt herself flush due to the close proximity, and bit her lip as they started to move. The couple moved gracefully across the dance floor, her hand practically clinging to his shoulder, and the other hand to his. He stared down at her with an intensity, of love or lust she didn't know, but nevertheless it was intense. She practically gulped, and looked up at him, their faces and breaths mixing in the cold temperature of the room. The music playing seemed to surround them, but to her it felt like they were the only ones in that ball, in the world. He leaned in, his mouth grazing against her ear, and she took a sharp inhale of breath in anticipation.

"Why did you kiss him, Marinette?" Her blood ran cold, for him to be so bold whilst they danced was almost unfathomable. She blinked, confused, and seemed to blank out looking over his shoulder at nothing. _How would he know, there is no way he would have ever known..._

"Answer me. Why did you kiss Nathaniel?" He looked down, his eyes angry but feigned a smile to keep up appearances.

"I-I, I didn't-"

"Don't lie to me." His grip tightened around her hip, not enough to hurt her but enough to emphasize his words. His jaw flexed as he took a look around, and then he suddenly dipped her as his green orbs almost glared at her.

"I'm not lying, I didn't kiss him. _He kissed me._ I would never-"

She was brought up immediately, and she slightly yelped, "Adrien-"

"Enough." Glancing around, Adrien noticed some other couples taking notice of their conversation and took hold of her wrist as he led her off the dance floor now. Their friends shot questioning looks, but were met with no answer. He opened the front door, leading to the porch, and sighed. The cold air made her skin grow goosebumps, and their huffs of breath were now more visible. "Just tell me the truth, Mari."

"I'm telling you, he forced himself on me and I tried to push him off of me, but-"

"Then explain this!" He took a picture out of his jacket, and threw it at her in rage. She flinched, and it fell to the floor. Adrien ran a hand through his hair, and turned away, exasperated. She bent at the knees, leaning down to get the picture. She furrowed her brows, disgusted at the sight of Nathaniel pressed against her, her struggle not visible. Marinette stood, and looked up at him, now angry. "Where did you get this?"

He turned again, frowning, "It doesn't matter-"

"Yes, it does. Where did you get this picture, Adrien?!"

"It doesn't _fucking_ matter!" She stood still in silence and shock, never having heard such a crude word from his lips. Of course, the occasional swear from her father and some classmates, but never from Adrien. "You know why it doesn't matter? Because you still kissed him! And that's proof! I mean, I know we aren't officially dating but… Still."

"I didn't-"

"No, you know what? Shut up! You know, on the outside, you seem like such a sweet, nice girl. But I guess I see your true colors now, huh?"

"Adrien, please-" Her hands grabbed at his sleeve, tears starting to once again fall from her eyes. "I love you, I-"

"You may love me, but we know for damn sure I don't love you, so just leave." He moved his arm away, shoving her away and walked to the door, placing his hand on the handlebars.

Surprised at his words, she scoffed in disbelief at his back. "What?"

"Just go, Marinette!" He walked inside his mansion, leaving her in shambles. As if on cue, thunder echoed across the sky and she gasped in surprise and looked up at the sky, knowing the rain would come soon after. Taking one more glance at the door, she turned, taking off her red heels, and started to run. Coming to the gate, she opened them slightly and squeezed by. She knew her parents would be expecting her anytime, and so she couldn't magically appear from within her room, thus she ran.

Her feet hit the pavement, one hand holding her dress off the ground as she sprinted and the other held her heels. Her breathing was fast, as the cold air breezed by, her heart full of adrenaline and her mind blank. Then the rain started to fall, and she stopped for a moment, catching her breath, seeing that running to avoid the rain hadn't exactly measured to what she wanted. Then again, nothing did.

Tikki peeked out from her coin purse, "Marinette, quickly. We'll get sick-"

Looking up at the sky, Marinette scoffed slightly in disbelief once again, and laughed. Tikki's tiny face resembled confusion and worry as her friend laughed. Smiling, laughing seemed unreal to her, especially after the night she's had.

"Marinette?"

At an instant, her laughing turned to full blown out sobs. Marinette fell to her knees, her hand covering her mouth to try and contain the cries. "I can't, Tikki. I don't want to feel anymore, it hurts. _It hurts."_

Adrien sat down at his seat, and rubbed his temples. He felt tired and betrayed, but Marinette being forced? He knew no one in their right mind would ever force sweet, beautiful Marinette into _anything,_ especially Nathaniel. He glanced around the room, and met the guy's eye himself, and the douche had a smirk on his face. Nathaniel drank out of a small shot glass, his movements hazy and his eyes seeming...drunk. _Speak of the devil..._ Standing, he brushed himself down and clenched his jaw, feeling anger flow through his body. He doubted himself about the situation, because if Marinette was telling the truth then the person who showed it to him, for some reason, wanted him against her.

Alya, placing an arm on him, spoke quietly, "Adrien, where's Marinette?"

"She went home…" Feeling himself seeth, he shook his head at him, but the guy only grinned.

"Why? Adrien, what are you not telling me? And why are you and Nathaniel looking at each other like that? Adrien?" Nino patted his friend on the back as Alya spoke, and she dropped her hand from his shoulder.

"You'll find out soon enough." Adrien scoffed, chugged down a shot, and then shrugging them off, he made his way across the room with stride and walked up to him, practically simmering from anger. His hands went to his collar, bringing him up close, and he snarled at Nathaniel. _"Don't ever lay a hand on her again, do you understand me? As a matter of fact, I don't want you going anywhere near her."_

The music, still playing seemed deafening to the rest of the guests as the whole school and some adults here and there, remained still, staring at the display of a threatening manner. Nino's eyes widened at the words, and Alya's eyes narrowed as she took out her phone to record the display. _She was definitely having a conversation with her best friend tonight.._.

Nathaniel only seemed to drunkenly snicker, then frowned right away, "Too late for that."

"I don't care, you never do it again, you hear me?"

Nathaniel's frown deepened, then leaned in to whisper, "I think I made her cry."

Adrien froze, his blood running cold. Visions of Marinette struggling against his body, and his eyes teared up.

His voice broke, "I didn't want to, but I had no choice. I had to hurt her, I had to force myself-"

A fist immediately pounded against his left cheek, a fist that belonged to Adrien Agreste. Everyone gasped in shock, never having seen the young model so violent before. The blonde merely looked at his knuckles in wonder as the other boy fell to the floor. He's fought villains before, but he always had a suit and even some magic by his side. Right now, it was just him and Nathaniel, a fight he was willing to bet he would win. Leaning down, he turned the boy cradling his cheek over, straddled his lap and punched him again. He groaned, and after a few hits, he had had enough.

The red-head threw Adrien off of him, stood, and kicked the model's side. "You like that? How's it feel to be kicked when you're down? Huh, Agreste?"

The second or third kick, he didn't remember which it was, but it made him envision Marinette watching this, and he rolled away and stood up quickly. Adrien jumped at Nathaniel, tackling him on one of the tables which caused it to break. After smashing cake onto the boy, Adrien punched his face once again, hitting his left eye and knocking him out indefinitely. But raised rightly, he knew when to stop. He stood, dusting himself off and taking off his jacket as he huffed, then looked around him indifferent at the stares and only rolled his eyes. Some friends of Nathaniel ran over, assisting the man and helping him out of the party. Staring at the rest of the remaining people, he briefly muttered an apology.

Nino whooped, "Yeah, that's my best friend! He just kicked that guy's butt! Whoo! You go, Adrien!"

Adrien shook his head, a slight smile on his face at his friend's antics, but frowned when his eyes met his father's.

"Adrien Agreste." The loud booming voice echoed throughout the ballroom, catching everyone's attention. All eyes laid upon his father, Gabriel Agreste, on top of the stairs and you could practically hear everyone's nervous gulp. "Come here. _Now._"

Sighing, Adrien lowered his head as he started to walk over to him, and Nino merely chuckled in pity, "Oh man, you're totally screwed- Ow! _Alya, what'd you do that for?_"

The walk up the stairs was slow and gruesome one, as some resumed the party and some only stared, nevertheless they walked into Adrien's room. Before completely stepping inside, Gabriel Agreste merely glanced at the rest of the ballroom, "The party is over, leave."

The door closed, leaving only father and son to converse. Tension increased as Mr. Agreste only stared at his son for a mere second, as if breaking him down in silence. Adrien, angry and in a moment of intolerance, spoke, "Don't do that to me, father. Just speak, tell me what you want to say to me because I'm so tired of the silent treatment."

There it was, he finally spoke his mind to his father. He felt happy, no. Relieved to have had shared his thoughts, he let out a deep breath. A great deal of emotion still soared through him: anger, exhaustion, and sadness. He knew as soon as he was done here, he would leave the party and go straight to Marinette's, he had to apologize as soon as he could. He wouldn't, _couldn't_ bear the thought of being away from her, of being angry at one another for much longer.

Still holding a stoic expression, Gabriel made a 'hmph', then spoke, "Well, for starters, how about the fact that you had just beat up someone for no reason like some common ruffian."

"Well, what'd you expect when you-"

"I expect obedience, Adrien."

"Oh, trust me I did what you wanted. I ended up kicking my own girlfriend out of the party, thanks to you!"

"And as of now, you're grounded, like you should've been when you didn't come home last night. You _are_ going to stay in your room, and you _will_ listen to me, if it's the last thing you do. Have a good night." He turned around, immediately closing the door and locking it from the outside. Adrien ran to the door, wanting to open it, but was unable to. He groaned, "Stupid…"

Plagg flew beside his face, "Wanna talk about it?"

He frowned, then let out an exasperated sigh, "He's always locking me up, Plagg. And it's so, well, _inconvenient._"

Plagg just scoffed, "But you always leave as Chat Noir, so what's the big deal?"

"Yeah, but it's still annoying." He lay on his bed, yawning. "I need to go to Marinette, apologize, and comfort her...she's probably..." Adrien's eyes drifted shut, temporarily forgetting about his worries.

Sunlight gently laid upon her eyes through her skylight above. Bluebell eyes met the ceiling, and she sighed. She turned on her side, covering a blanket around herself. She didn't care if she was late to school, not today at least. She even had to ask Alya to leave when she came in badgering her, and she didn't like it. _Maybe I looked so sad she had to leave it alone._ Thoughts swirled about, causing her to be even more restless. Adrien, he thought her a cheater. And what happened with Nathaniel was worse, she felt disgusted with herself. She felt violated. Her knees met her chest, and she wrapped her arms around them. Marinette drifted in and out of sleep, worrying and even crying at times, then snoring the next moment. It had taken an hour before a big crash that shook her whole house awoke her, sending her running downstairs to check on her parents. "Mom? Dad?"

Her parents, Sabine and Tom came running up, worried. Seeing she was fine, they absorbed her into a group hug. Her mom's voice quivered as she checked her daughter for any signs of, "Marinette? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. What's going on?" Wiggling out of their embrace, she looked out the window to see the Eiffel Tower had been broken down. "Another akuma attack already?"

"Afraid so. But I know Ladybug and Chat Noir will save the day again." Tom hugged Sabine close to her, being overprotective. He knew it hurt her to see her town in suffering, but as she said: Ladybug and Chat Noir will save everyone.

Marinette bit her lip, and turned to her parents. "I need to call Alya, I'll be right-"

Suddenly, another tremor vibrated through the house, and they all ducked, bracing themselves to be safe. Tom and Sabine, separated from their daughter, called out to her from behind the couch, but she was preoccupied with more important matters to respond.

Marinette gasped as she looked above her, there was an akumatized version of Nathaniel. He was no longer recognizable, his form that of a shadow, a destructive one. He destroyed everything in his path and left depression in the citizens, and Marinette was his first priority.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

He flew close to her, and she was paralyzed with both fear and curiosity. Caressing her cheek, his empty white orbs stared into hers, and she held her breath. "_Nathaniel…?_"

Suddenly, he grabbed her from the waist and then they were high in the air. She could hear her parents scream as she was taken from them, but all she could do was wriggle once again in his grasp to be set free. However, he held on tight, bruising her sides and only harming her the more she tried to escape. "Please, Nathaniel…"

His blue face stared ahead as they flew, and his voice had immense echo. "I never meant to hurt you. But Gabriel Agreste… It was you or my family."

"Nate…"

"I couldn't choose. Instead, I got drunk, and I did horrible things…" Tears escaped his white eyes, yet his face remained impassive. "Now I'm going to kill Gabriel Agreste, and everything he built."

"Nathaniel, you can't do that. You won't be any better than-"

Nathaniel landed on the edge of the soccer stadium abruptly, and he growled as he let Marinette down. "Can you honestly say that you don't hate him right now? Mari, you have to understand… He wanted me to seduce you, to… what I did was nothing compared to what he wanted me to do to you."

Marinette pursed her lips, her eyes tearing up. She could barely handle that forced kiss, but anything else would've definitely ruined her. "It doesn't matter what I want. Heck, one minute I could hate Chloe, but it doesn't mean I want her dead."

"Marinette…"

"She might be passive-aggressive sometimes, but she and I-"

"She saw."

She looked up, and her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean she-"

"Who do you think took the picture?"

She sat down on the metal, her mind reeling. "I can't believe it. She wouldn't…"

"She did. Now come with me, and we could ruin them together." Marinette scowled.

"As much as I would want to reverse what happened to me, this won't do anything about it."

"Marinette, I'm sorry I hurt you, but I need you to comply-"

"Why do you need me, Nathaniel?" Marinette's frown deepened, and she raised an eyebrow.

"Hawkmoth told me that you can willingly comply, or you can be a hostage."

She scoffed, "A hostage?" She stood up, glaring at her partner. "And who am I a hostage for?"

"For Chat Noir." She froze, her arms self-consciously wrapped around herself. She had been wearing his hoodie and shorts. Under his gaze, she felt insecure all of a sudden.

"What?"

"Don't act dumb, Marinette. Your life choices aren't any of business, but really? Adrien and Chat Noir? Are you just into blondes?"

She looked away, his scrutinizing gaze reminding her too much of last night.

"Does red not do it for you?"

Marinette scoffed, "Not particularly, no."

He suddenly grabbed her by the hair, pulling her back. "Wrong answer."

The loud bangs and yells of panic met deaf ears in the Agreste household, the only one who heard it was a certain blonde teenager. Adrien, laying on his bed fast asleep, he finally awoke with no realization of what actually woke him up. Yawning, he leisurely walked to the bathroom for a shower. Turning on the hot water, he barely blinked as it seared his back. In fact, he groaned, his back too tense for comfort now relaxed under the heated liquid. He ran his hand through his hair, grabbing his two-in-one shampoo and conditioner and washing his hair thoroughly. He rinsed his gold locks, really kneading his hands through it. Grabbing the soap bar, he rubbed it all over his body, first with his abdomen and finishing up with his legs. The sun hit his back as he did this, only adding to the warmth he felt deep in his skin, a warmth he craved for.

His eyes widened, his brain actually kicking again into action, warmth. _Marinette…_ His memory came back swiftly, the morning grogg slipping away as he remembered last night's events. _The ball, Nathaniel, cheering, his father… _He groaned, turning off the water and wrapping a towel around his waist. He ran outside the restroom, getting dressed in his everyday clothes and not bothering to fix his hair. Once finished with tying his shoes, he glanced around for his kwami. "Plagg?"

Not responding to his calls, the blonde only smirked at the black cat's silence. "Plagg, claws out!"

Coming from inside the couch, he screamed as he was dragged into Adrien's ring, commencing the transformation. Seconds later, now in his leather catsuit, Chat Noir leaped out of his bedroom window and onto the roofs of Paris. He gasped, seeing damage around the city. He couldn't believe he woke up late, Ladybug must already be on the scene. He'd probably have time to visit Marinette.

His heart wildly beat in his chest, his hands seemed sweaty, and his head wasn't clear, he was nervous about seeing her after last night. He arrived a minute later, and seeing the wreck that was the Dupain-Cheng's house, he shook his head in utter disbelief. Closing his eyes, he willed it not to be real, for it all just to be a bad dream, but when he opened his eyes the destruction was still there. He jumped from the roof and into the family's living room, seeing the wreckage. He walked past the couch to see Marinette's parents in tears as they held each other.

"Miss… Mister. Are you alright?" He bent down, reaching his hand out to help them up. Sabine slapped it away, hysterically crying.

"Where were you? Where were you when they took her?! It took my baby…" Tom held her close, calming her down as she wept. He looked up cautiously to Chat Noir, and sighed.

"That thing… that akumatized monster took her. It took our daughter. _Get her back_."

Panting, she whimpered as she tried to sit up. Instead, she turned onto her stomach, and started to try and crawl away. But he got to her before she could even move an inch, grabbing her from her hair again, momentarily throwing her, then grabbing her once again by the waist. She winced, still squirming to get away, but her injuries made her attempts ineffective. He chuckled in her ear, with his voice raspy and quiet, and whispered, "Can't have Adrien defend you this time, huh?"

An ironic statement, considering Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir. "I… I don't know what you mean. He never-"

He flipped her over quickly, causing her to yelp, his hand flew to her neck. The only thing holding her in the air was his grip on her neck which was going to leave a nasty bruise.

"At the ball, idiot. He beat me up over our silly liplock. How romantic, huh?"

She stayed silent, refusing to answer him and only clawed at the hand that held her neck.

Smirking, he tightened his hand around her neck, cutting off her air. "Once Chat Noir and Ladybug come to defeat me, Hawk Moth will finally have his miraculous. And once you're dead, I'll go after Gabriel. Maybe I'll even go after Adrien, too..."

"Lea- Leave… him..." With her inability to speak, he raised an eyebrow. Her chest tightened, and she teared up as more oxygen was removed from her lungs. Her feet flailed in the air, her survival instincts begging, _fighting _to live. Just when she thought it'd end, just when her vision started to blacken, she heard his voice.

"_I know you're supposed to destroy things and all that, but a girl? Really? How rude of you."_

Nathaniel turned her again, pressing her back to his front and wrapping one arm around her waist as he held a hand to his side. Glaring at the cat, he growled as his voice became louder though still sounding glitched out, "Look what the cat dragged in… I was gonna wait until you got her buuuut, I figured you'd be more upset when she's dead."

The leather cat stood on the roof of the stadium, about the same height as to where the Depressor held Marinette. Smirking, he held a facade over his worry for the girl.

"Chat! You came!" Her voice was raspy, broken, and overall damaged from her throat being forced shut, but the superhero only grinned, keeping humour to lighten the situation.

"What kind of knight would I be if I didn't come to save my princess?" She smiled, despite the circumstances, she could get used to this side of him.

She felt the villain's hold tightened around her waist, hurting her insides and making her groan in pain. "So Hawk Moth was right, you have a thing for little miss sunshine here, huh? I couldn't believe it myself…"

Seeing her tremble in suffering, he cried out to her. He glared at the villain, the toy of Hawk Moth.

"Marinette! Let her go, you monster!" Snarling, he put himself in a fighting stance. "Is this what you kidnapped her for, because of me?!"

"I had my reasons as well… She's not the only one on my hit list. Ever heard of the Agreste family?"

His eyes widened only a fraction, but it was enough for the villain to notice. "Oh, so I see you have. Well, it doesn't matter now. I think it'll be better to play cat and mouse for a little, don't you agree?"

The shadow suddenly let go of Marinette, but caught her by her foot. "Now pick. You can catch me, and save all of Paris. Or you can risk the whole city, for this stupid, clumsy little girl."

Marinette hung, barely being able to breathe. Her skin had started to go pale, and she could hardly even think. If they both left, she could turn into Ladybug and help despite her ill state. But if Adrien did leave her, she didn't know if her heart could bare it.

"I'm not gonna choose!" Chat shook his head, refusing to play the menace's little game.

Smirking, the black figure span around speedily and managed to launch the fragile girl into the air. Her scream pierced the air sharply, and the villain grinned. "Pick now, Noir. Your time is wasting…"

As he started to zoom away, a pink butterfly rim appeared around the Depressor's face, indicating his communication with Hawk Moth.

"You fool! What are you doing? You could've used her for ransom!"

"Why not use Adrien Agreste? Any kid is worth using as bait for those heroic saps…"

"Depressor, that isn't a good idea." His voice was stern, trying to maintain order over his follower.

"I've got this, Hawk Moth. I know what I'm doing." Tuning out his protests, the villain made his way towards the Agreste mansion.

Her impact with the hard concrete was anticipated, what wasn't was when she was caught in the famous superhero's strong leather arms.

Opening her eyes in surprise, she faintly gasped. "Chat…" Her hand went up to caress his cheek, and he placed his hand over it.

"Mari, I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen-"

Her finger was placed over his lips, silencing him. "You need to go save Paris. I'm not important right now."

"Of course you are! I need you, and right now we need to get you to the hospital-"

"Chat!" Yelling, he stared at her like a lost little boy, his eyes sorrowful and full or regret as well. Caressing his cheek for the second time, she smiled. "I appreciate the thought, but once you save all of Paris, I'll be fine. Trust me."

"But I need you to be safe."

"I'm safe here, look. There's no one around. Go save the city, and I'll wait for you here, okay?" Staring into her large bluebell eyes, he pressed his forehead against hers and sighed heavily. "It's him. It's Nathaniel, Chat. Beat him."

"I will… Be safe, princess." Pressing a peck to her cheek and gently laying her down in the field, he fled. Extending his bo staff and jumping from roof to roof to go and defeat the akuma.

Marinette, still lying on the floor, groaned out, "Tikki…"

Finally jumping out of her coin purse, she hugged her owner's cheek. "Marinette…"

"Will I be healed if I transform?" She cut straight to the chase, tired and ready to end Nathaniel's dark form once and for all. Her kwami stayed silent, and she asked again. "Tikki, will I be healed?

The creature sighed, then answered. "Yes, but not completely. The magic and I will help you enough to stand on your own two feet. And once you defeat him, all the wreck done by Nathaniel will be cured."

"Even-"

"I don't know for sure, Marinette. It's a fifty-fifty chance."

As if optimism suddenly filling her heart, her voice turned into one of joy.

"Well, I'm willing to bet on that. Tikki, spots on!"

Grunting, he fell against the wall of the Agreste Mansion. Chat smirked at his fall, since he was the one who caused it, "Guess only cats land on their feet."

Looking up from his fall, he only frowned. "I've always hated your use of puns, you know. It isn't even funny." Lunging at him, Nathaniel tackled Chat Noir, but the feline flipped them over twice over so the superhero would be on top. Flabbergasted, the villain only blinked in shock as to what just happened.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue, Nate?" Smirking down at him, he was about to summon his cataclysm when he was pulled back by his tail and found himself on his back besides the very much standing Ladybug.

"I'd hope not. Then that would mean that instead of flirting with damsels, it'd be other fellow knights." Giggling from the element of surprise, she helped him back up. Back on his own two feet next to his partner, Noir smirked at his lady.

"Would that be so wrong, M'Lady?" Taking her hand to kiss, he winked before laying his lips onto the back of her hand. He was surprised she even let him.

"No, but it'd take your attention away from moi." The two widened their eyes, realizing she had just flirted back. _She had just flirted back, more than usual that is._ Shaking her head in an effort to regain her thoughts, she huffed at her mistake. She couldn't get too carried away, she knew his identity, not the other way around. She had to act normally.

"Anyways, back to the task at hand." Knowing their duties, Chat refocused back to the Depressor, him barely dusting himself off. Then suddenly, he charged at them, throwing caution to the wind. Ladybug, with a slight limp, ran towards him as well. His partner followed suit, both of them ready to attack.

A shock of pain went through Ladybug as she ran, and she fell. Not noticing at first, he still ran towards him, ready for them to commence in battle. He risked a glance behind him, and slowed down to a stop, forgetting completely about Nathaniel.

"Ladyb-" A groan broke his sentence as he was kicked in his legs, making him fall down to his knees. The akumatised victim held his hands together and muttered under his breath causing intruding thoughts that made him blindly sad and angry. They consumed him. The Depressor raised a hand, prepared to take his life, when his hand was tied with a yo-yo and pulled him into the air, over Chat Noir, and onto the ground with a hard slam.

Chat Noir slowly stood up, his body regaining strength.

Weakly standing, she yanked her weapon back and summoned upon her secret power, "Lucky Charm!"

A small drawing tablet and pen fell onto her lap, and her eyebrows furrowed. As Chat Noir turned around and started to fight him again, she thought hard about what to do. "What should I…" She remembered their discussion from earlier, and realized something. Her hand started scribbling wildly.

Chat Noir scratched at his face, and Nathaniel yelled in rage. "You little-!"

"_Nathaniel?" What are you doing here?"_

Nathaniel froze, his eyes widened, and turned around. Ladybug stood amidst as the memory played out in front of them, since she drew it out herself and it came to life. "Marinette told me, Nathaniel. About your guilt, about last night. We know Gabriel Agreste blackmailed you."

A cartoon version of Marinette struggled against Nathaniel as he forcefully held her down. _"Nathaniel, please, stop. I don't want this, this isn't righ-"_ Cartoon Nathaniel forced himself upon her, and she visibly struggled as he kissed her. Chat Noir's jaw visibly clenched, as well as his fists.

"Nathaniel, she forgives you." The akumatised version of Nathaniel fell to his knees, tearing up.

"She knows you were drunk, she knows Gabriel blackmailed you, and she knows you weren't yourself. You're her friend, and you can make this right." Nathaniel shook his head, and hugged himself.

"She may say that, but she'll never really forget. She'll never really forgive me…"

Ladybug walked up to him, and kneeled in front of him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Where's the akuma?"

Nathaniel put his hand in his pocket, and then pulled out a wet photo of him and Marinette hugging. "I was crying over it and then…" Nathaniel suddenly groaned, grabbing his head as a pink butterfly over his face appeared.

"Who are you to think you can disobey, boy?"

Ladybug quickly snatched the photo and limped over to Chat Noir. "Hurry, summon your cataclysm!"

"Ladybug, you're-"

"Do it now!"

Chat Noir frowned, but still abided. "Cataclysm!"

The photo turned into ash and Ladybug smiled widely, "No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilise!" Swiping the bug from mid-air, she cleansed it, then set it free. "Bye, bye, little butterfly."

As the insect flew away, Nathaniel had returned to his normal form, and fainted. Letting out a sigh of relief, she turned around. "That was nice work. Pound-"

She had turned to hold out her fist to him, but he was already gone.

"Chat.."

It was the afternoon. Marinette lay in her bed, conversing with her best friend Alya, whom was by her bedside. Two days had passed by since the akuma attack, and even after the magic spreading, it still did not completely heal her. By now though, she was completely fine and mobile, just slightly scratched up. Alya shook her head, "I can't believe Adrien talked to you that way. And he _still_ hasn't apologized to you… Ugh, what a stupid dude."

According to the man himself, he had texted her and told her to get better with not one mention of the incident or an apology for it. I guess he had wanted her to get better first, but Marinette would never really know.

"It's okay, Alya. I mean, it never would have worked out anyways." Twiddling with her fingers, she looked down at them, insecure about the whole situation. Alya placed her hand over them, smiling sympathetically.

"Or maybe he just doesn't deserve you, Mari." Patting her friend on the shoulder, she simply made a straight face, "Anyways, what happened with Nathaniel was-"

"No, no, no. Enough talk about me. Let's talk about you and Nino.." Looking confused, Alya played dumb.

"Who's Nino? I don't know who you're talking about."

Playfully smacking her friend on the shoulder, she laughed, "Hey, don't play dumb with me. So tell me all the details. Have you guys done anything yet? Is he a good kisser?"

"We aren't really ready for that just yet… And, well, we've kissed a couple times but every time I try to take it further, he pushes me away. And, I mean, it's not like there's pressure for him, or anything, but it feels like I'm gross to him, and personally…"

"You want to move the pace a little faster?"

She scoffed, "Yes! Oh my gosh, you have no idea the faces he makes about us doing anything. It's like a whole new side of Nino, and I thought I took it slow. Not to mention, perfect boy Adrien already kissed you _and_ gave you a hickey! The least I could get was one, just one kiss." Grinning, Marinette shook her head at her friend.

"What? A makeout session isn't a lot to ask for."

"I get what you're saying, Alya. But maybe you should just respect his pace..."

"Yeah no, I understand that. But the way it makes me feel… I don't know. I don't think it's just his pacing, I think he's genuinely scared of doing anything…"

Marinette kindly smiled understandingly, "He'll tell you in due time, Alya. He loves you."

With her rant over, she gave a deep and frustrated sigh, then smiled at her friend. "Thanks, I needed to talk about that, heh."

Rolling her eyes, she sat up and hugged her best friend and giggled. "We're best friends for life, Alya. We can talk about anything, remember?"

"Yeah, so tell me what happened with Nathaniel, you, and Adrien."

Sighing, she pulled away and looked down. "He, um, he forced himself on me. Not with sex, but, he kissed and kind of groped me. I guess Chloe thought we were making out consensually or something, and she took a picture and printed it out for Adrien."

Looking up at Alya, Marinette teared up as she remembered the experience. "It was awful, Alya. I usually know how to defend myself, but he was-"

"He was your friend, and your guard was down because of that. It wasn't your fault…" Alya pulled her in a big hug, and comforted her as she cursed Nathaniel in her head.

Three knocks rang out from outside the room, signalling someone wanting entrance to her room. Calling out, she pulled away from Alya, "Come in!"

Her mother's head popped out, the woman smiling at her daughter with love, "Adrien is here to see you, sweetie."

"Tell him to come up, please." Sabine went down to get him, leaving the two girls to share a look, a '_tell me what happens later_' look.

Looking at her best friend, Alya nodded in understanding, "I'll see you later, girl."

She made her way out, leaving the teeanger to herself in her pink room, leaving her in a pool of anxiety.

His blonde head popped out of the door, his body appearing with it, and then his feet. Her breath hitched, she felt nervous as his gaze met her form, and she stared at the floor.

"Mari.." The way his voice said her name always gave her shivers, but this time it sounded deeper. Raspy. As if he had been…

Her bluebell eyes looked up to his quickly, to see they were red. _He had been crying… Oh my gosh…_ Gulping, she gathered enough courage to respond. "Yes, Adrien?"

_**Tell me your thoughts in the comments below, and btw I made a forum about this so we can discuss and maybe vote about things we want to happen or stuff like that! Feel free to visit and I can't wait to write the next chapter!**_

_**Asylum **_


	7. Chapter 7 : Hardships

***Uncovered Mask***

**~Chapter Seven~**

"_**You, You don't mean no harm, but you're stringing me along,**_

_**And I don't have the time to spare,**_

_**And I, I'm trying hard to breathe, but you're suffocating me,**_

_**This time I'm coming up for air."**_

"Are you okay? When I couldn't find you, I… I was scared. I called your parents, I looked everywhere on the stadium… then Nino told me Ladybug brought you home safe."

She pursed her lips, and looked down, "Yeah, she found me just in time..."

"Marinette, look. I know I was wrong."

"Were you? I mean, you weren't completely wrong…" Raising her eyebrows in emphasis, she bit her lip. She didn't want him apologizing, she felt bad even though she didn't do anything wrong. _How does that even work? Isn't that...bad? Is what they have bad? It is, isn't it?_

"Yes, of course I was! That shouldn't even be a question. Something horrible happened to you and..." Almost getting angry, he raised his voice a little, "You know, just because I'm Adrien Agreste doesn't mean I can't say or do what I did to you. Just because I am who I am doesn't mean I can get away with acting that way, Marinette."

Scoffing, she frowned, "I'm not compromising for you because of who you are! I feel bad! I hurt someone I love! I'm just trying to say I was at fault too! I didn't explain it right and-"

"That's because I didn't let you!" Walking over and sitting at the edge of her bed, he softened his voice to ease the turmoil in the room. "Look, I…" Getting lost in her eyes, he trailed off, unsure of his next thought. "I know I can't love you, at least not yet but… Let me treat you the way I should."

He grabbed her hands, and leaned in, wanting to be close to her. "Just let me be here for you." His arms enveloped her in a big hug.

Marinette hesitated, the touch feeling slightly uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she wrapped her arms around him too. "You were mean."

Understanding, he nodded. "Even when I was hurt and angry, I felt like I was being a big jerk."

Marinette smirked, "You're not wrong about that."

Marinette nodded, letting go and playing with her fingers nervously even though he seemed like an innocent child, his eyes did remain intense. "I understand, and I forgive you but… You hurt me. And not just that, you didn't even believe me."

Licking her lips, finding it hard to say the right words, he just waited patiently. Blinking the tears away, she finally spoke. "Not to mention that… that I want something real. We've only been together for about a day or two, and even then it isn't even real-"

Grabbing her hands back into his, he silenced her. "I'm sorry I can't give you something better Marinette, and I'm sorry I can't give you all my love. But I can give you something real. And what I feel _is_ real, and I don't know myself exactly what it is but… I want to try. I want to explore what this… _feeling_ is. And I want to explore that with you." Smiling, his eyes creasing, he blushed. "If you'd let me that is."

"Of course." They embraced, his face digging into her neck. They stayed that way for a long time, until she pulled away as guilt tugged on her chest. "Adrien…"

"Princess?"

Her voice broke, "I don't know how to deal with this.."

"Mari…" He held her, and embraced her again. Her head rested against his shoulder, seeking comfort.

"I feel dirty. I feel used, and worthless and-" Her sobs echoed throughout the room. "I couldn't move, and I was so scared-"

He shushed her in a comforting manner, "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I should've been there to comfort you, I should've believed you the minute you said it."

She drew in a shaky breath, "How could you? Some people could lie about stuff like that and-"

"Not you, Mari. Never you… You're the most honest and kindest person I know. You could never do that to anyone…"

She sniffled, "I'm so sorry, Adrien. I never meant for any of this to happen."

"Mari…" He pulled away slightly, "Did my father… did he really do this to you?"

Marinette looked away, "I… I only know what Nathaniel told me. Something about his family or me… and he chose his family. And that, C-Chloe took the picture. But I don't think she genuinely knew he was hurting me…"

Adrien frowned, and just hugged her close. He was upset, but right now wasn't about him. It was about her…

His hand ran through her hair, trying to give her solace her anyway he can.

Her legs couldn't move faster, her breathing couldn't swallow more air. _Swallow? Oh my god, she was freaking insane._ Marinette's mind focused on the building ahead, she didn't notice the blue haired beauty she would impact into.

Her shoulder bumped his, and her bluebell eyes met his teal ones just nanoseconds before her back hit the floor. Dazed, she sat up onto her knees immediately to retrieve her books on the ground, not wanting to risk an embarrassed glance at the boy in front of her.

"Are you okay, Mar-"

"Yeah, I'm fine; just as clumsy as ever." As she reached out for the last book, so did he. They both looked up simultaneously, and yet bumped heads. "Oh my god, we've got to stop doing… that."

Her voice trailed off as she focused her eyes on his face for the first time. She smiled, "Luka…"

"Brave, little Mari…" Luka's hand carried her textbook, while his other helped her onto her feet. They both seemed to be speechless as they just smiled at each other, almost basking in the happiness of being in each other's presence. To other people, it may seem a little awkward, yet it was anything but. Her heart seemed to soar inside her chest, and she still couldn't find anything good to say that seemed fitting.

Breaking the silence, he slightly smirked down at the raven haired girl as he spoke. "So, how've you been?"

"I've been good, better now that…" Her eyes widened at where her sentence was going, and Luka's smirk turned into a full blown grin. Marinette shook her head, a light blush warmed her face as she spoke, "And you? How have you been?"

"Well, since I bumped into you, my day has actually become a _lot _greater now."

Giggling at his words, she bit her lip, bashful yet playful. "You really mean that?"

"Really, really."

His eyes didn't waver to her body like other boys would; they would just focus on her eyes; on her soul. Her chest seemed to grow warm, and Marinette bristled. Becoming a little more curious, she asked him a question. "So where were you headed?"

"I had forgotten some stuff at home, actually. My teacher had let me go so I could get it."

"Oh. Your teacher's super nice. I mean, mine is too, but I don't know if she-" She shook her head, "I'm rambling. Sorry, I just get , what do you need to get?"

"I'm gonna be honest, and don't laugh but-" Luka rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "My backpack."

Marinette giggled, "Pfft. Your whole backpack?"

He shook his head with a smile, "Yeah, I know. Super dumb, huh?"

She blushed, "No, not dumb. Honestly, I find it kind of cute."

It was Luka's turn to blush. He sheepishly shook his head and laughed. "You're something else, Mari. What a lovely tune…"

Her eyes widened, and she went to grab the book from him, "Well, I guess I should get going to class unless-"

"Unless you want to come with me to get it?"

Turning her head with a small, yet unintentional, flirtatious smile, she spoke.

"I'd love to."

Adrien sighed for the hundredth time, and both Nino and Alya rolled their eyes. "OH, MY GOD, AGRESTE!"

Surprised at Alya's outburst, the two male teenagers jumped at her loud voice. "W-What do you mean, Alya?"

"Well, obviously, you miss Marinette." Adrien pursed his lips, and looked at the floor.

"Oh, really? What gave it away?"

"Oh, 'what gave it away', he says. How about only the hundred _million_ sighs since _break,_ not since school started, since mother-trucking _break _started."

Chuckling, Nino nodded along. "She ain't exactly wrong, dude."

"Thanks, babe."

Groaning, he hung his head as if in shame. "She's just always worrying me, and is always so clumsy…"

"Don't worry about her so much, Adrien. If Marinette is this late, she probably has a really good…" Looking ahead, past his shoulders, she trailed off and her lips were confused to whether grin or frown. "Reason…?"

Their feet walked simultaneously, and with his arm around a red Marinette, and though the small, flustered girl focused on everyone else's shocked faces, Luka's eyes never left her face. Walking up to the three gaping friends, the two dark-haired teenagers greeted them. Adrien seemed to glare at them for a brief second, and then looked away, but it could've been just Marinette's imagination.

"So, what's up, guys?" The dyed blue hair boy kindly smiled, oblivious to the tension between them; or just simply ignoring it. Alya scoffed, and smirked at her best friend whilst Nino made an awkward yet humorous 'duck lips'.

Suddenly, the blonde stood up and reached out a hand to him, smiling with his lips, but not with his eyes, _not at all with his eyes_. "Nice to see you again, Lucas, was it?"

Grinning, he shook his hand right away. "It's just Luka, actually. You're Adrien, right?" When confirmed, he turned to the other two, recalling their names again, "And you two must be Alya and Nino."

"Right. Your mother was-"

"-Was the leader of the band for the music festival. She was really great that night, Luka." Marinette smiled up at him, giving a sideways glare at her crush. "It wouldn't have been the same without her."

Luka took his arm from around her, and smirked. "You're too kind, Mari. But you don't have to censor the fact that my mom was akumatized, its okay." Looking up at Adrien with a guarded smile, he spoke. "I mean, I know I'm not the only one with a once akumatized parent around here, right?"

Awkward silence enveloped the five as Marinette scoffed at the two. "Okay, well, I think we all should all head back to class now. This leads to my next question: which class are you in, Luka?"

"Just about a grade above you, actually. My teacher's actually kind of laid back though, so I'd say I think I have about the right amount of time to walk you to class."

Before she could answer, Adrien spoke, "Aw, thanks Luka. I appreciate the sentiment."

Patting him on the shoulder, Adrien walked a bit ahead of him, and then waited for the rest of them. "Going to walk us, or not, Luka?"

Pursing his lips, Luka raised his eyebrows and smiled a tight lipped smile, then proceeded to walk them into their class. Waving goodbye to Marinette, he walked away from the classroom doorway. Marinette sheepishly waved back, and then proceeded to pull out her class supplies. She leaned over, whispering to her best friend. "What'd I miss first period?"

Giving her a playful glare, Alya responded in a snarky manner, "No, I'm not peeping a word until you spill what happened with Luka."

Marinette giggled, "I'll pass a note. Now tell me what I missed in class."

Adrien stilled, almost paralyzed as he heard the interaction. His eyes narrowed, _Luka._ As the class passed by, Adrien's tense body seemed to become more uncomfortable with every minute that came and left. As soon as the bell rang, he stood up suddenly only to feel a small hand on his shoulder. He turned, coming face to face with Marinette. "Adrien, you okay? You seem… agitated."

"I wonder why, Mari. You know, I…" Looking away from her eyes, he noticed their classmates that were walking by and then sighed as he brushed her off. "Forget it." He walked away, slowing to a halt when he saw Luka in the hallway, and then walked past in disregard to his presence.

Frowning because of him in the classroom, again, she smiled nonchalantly at the passing classmates to try and prevent the spread of rumors. Marinette was the last one about to be out of the class when she saw Luka leaning against the doorway. "Did you-"

"I saw enough." Walking to her cautiously, he smiled sympathetically. "You okay?"

Nodding, she smiled, gratefully. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, Luka."

"Marinette…"

"Don't ask."

"What is he to you?"

"I thought I said not to ask…"

"Mari, I need to know."

"It's… It's complicated, Luka. For the longest time, I've liked and had a crush on Adrien, but the problem is that he's been in love with someone else. And I…"

Luka placed a hand on her shoulder, "Well, maybe it's time to have some space between the two of you. Be friends before you two could ever be anything more and make sure that you…" Clearing his throat at her searching eyes, he rephrased his thoughts. "That you _both_ have time to explore your options."

"Luka…"

"I know it might not be so easy, but maybe it'll fix things between you."

Suddenly, her arms wrapped around him as her head buried in his shirt. "That's what I needed to hear, Luka. Thank you."

Reluctant at first from the surprise of the embrace, he eventually hugged her back, "Anytime." Pulling away, Luka created only an inch of space between them.

"Actually, Mari, I need to confess something to you."

"And what is that, exactly?"

"Well, it's more like a statement, really." Clearing his throat, he stared into her eyes without waver. "I'm going to be friends with you; I'll help you, and I'll be your shoulder to lean on from time to time. But remember this…" His hands went to her neck, making sure her gaze never left his eyes. Her heart hammered against her chest as her head went in spirals from the close proximity. She couldn't deny the wanting of his lips against hers, or the fact that they had a bond that went beyond friendship; a bond inexplicable by words. With those thoughts in mind, she hung onto every word he said. "Remember this feeling between us, and never let it go. And until you realize the connection we have, I won't cross any boundaries you have for us as friends."

"Luka…" Placing her hand over his, she smiled sweetly. She was touched, and was practically at a loss for words; and that's when it hit her. "Luka, I-

Seeing the wall above them crack, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Marinette trailed off her sentence when she noticed his attention was somewhere else. "Luka, what's wrong-"

"Get down!"

Grabbing her waist, he dove them both to the floor as the roof above them collapse. Now lying down, Luka held himself over Marinette as pieces of debris fell around them. One particular piece of roof fell on both of Luka's legs, and only one of hers; they were trapped. Feeling the floor underneath them start to give way, both of their eyes widened. "Marinette, get out of here before-"

"I can't and I will not leave you! "

"Yes, you can. I'll be fine, I-"

"Luka, I literally _can't _leave you! I'm trapped too." Hearing her pained gasping, his face transformed into one of worries.

"Are you okay? Mari?"

"It's not too badly injured, I'll be okay, Trust me." Hearing a roar above them, they stilled in fear. _"Akuma…"_

Its feet landed, and roared loudly a name many others that have been akumatized had once yelled. "Chloe Bourgeois!" Sighing in relief, she smiled encouragingly to Luka. _They weren't the targets; it could be easier to escape now._

"We need to find a way to get out of this rubble. Come on, we can use something as a lever and-"

"Mari, we have to hurry; we're going to fall-"

The ground gave way, breaking under the akuma's feet, and then the two fell through the roof of another classroom. Realizing he'd fall onto her along with some rubble, Luka threw her out of the way at the last second. Dust surrounded them both as they collapsed down two floors and into the basement.

Marinette landed on her stomach. She got up on all fours, and gasped as she turned to see Luka was completely covered under big, rocky pieces of building and floor. She stood; her leg was fine despite a scratch or two. She ran over to him, and tried to take some of the weight off him, and even though it might have normally been too heavy, somehow by some miracle, she succeeded.

His clothes were ruffled with dust and almost completely worn out, his hair was a mess, and that's when she the blood dripping from the side of his head. She whimpered, and grabbed his face gently. Dazed, he smiled at her through the pain.

"Luka… Why-"

"I think you know why. Besides, it's what any sane person would do." Looking past her shoulder, he saw the door to the basement. Despite wanting her by his side, he knew she'd be safer away from the damage; safer at home. "There's the door to the basement. You can make it home, while you can. Please."

"No. Luka, I would never leave you here."

"Marinette, go. Get some help." Luka coughed, and then groaned as his body was now sore. He closed his eyes, fading into unconsciousness. "You shouldn't be here."

Her eyes widened, and she grabbed his shoulders and shook them with urgency. "Luka, please! Don't close your eyes, stay with me, you could have a concussion… Luka!"

Tikki flew out of her coin purse and appeared by her side as tears started to pour down her porcelain-like cheeks, and hugged her face. "You know what you have to do, Marinette. You can save him, and the rest of Paris. Just say the words."

Nodding, she wiped the tears off and stood proudly. "Paris needs me. Tikki, spots on!"

Pink magic swirled about her as she transformed, and a luminescent light glowed from the center of the basement in the view of two teal, yet dazed eyes of Luka Coffaine.

Alya gasped at the large spider-like akumatized man in the courtyard; it was blocking the entrance as to look for the one and only spiteful Chloe. Panicked, she grabbed Nino's hands and led them to the entrance of a nearby closet. Throwing the door open, she threw her boyfriend in, despite his protests, and blocked it off with a door. _"Be safe."_

Rushing, she dove into a classroom, took out her phone, and started recording a live video of the monster as it caused chaos within the school's walls. Then, pointing the camera at herself, she pleaded desperately. "Ladybug and Chat Noir, where are you?!"

Adrien had gone out during lunch period for a refresher. He absolutely couldn't stand the view of beautiful, innocent Marinettte with that gothic, flirtatious guitar musician. Personally, he was sure that he was a nice guy, and maybe he had overreacted a little, but he couldn't shake the internal feeling of dread, jealousy, and anger every time he saw the two 'friends' laughing together. Though he did feel some remorse, he had decided to make it up to her for his sour attitude.

He was currently at the Dupain-Cheng's bakery, buying some _croissants_** [SHIP]** and some macaroons for the both of them to share when he'd apologize. Hopefully she'd forgive him, maybe even be so infested with love for the sweet dessert her parents had made so wonderfully that she would completely ignore her new found 'friend' Lukas.

Mrs. Dupain-Cheng had just boxed the delicious, frosty treats for the model when a loud commotion shook the ground. Looking out the window, they had both determined it had come from across the street; from the high school. _"Marinette…"_

Hurriedly excusing himself from the shop, he ran next to the bakery to search for a secluded enough spots to transform; he found one. Plagg popped out from the inside of his jacket and sighed, "By now, Hawkmoth has just been intrusive and downright annoying. Interrupting me and my precious cheese…"

"Enough of your complaining, Plagg, we've got to save Marinette."

"You mean Paris?"

"Same thing." Forming a wide grin, he held out his fist to shout: "Now Plagg, claws out!"

With Luka secured over her shoulder, Ladybug opened the door to the basement cautiously and surveyed the courtyard. There were some students trapped in some sort of cocoons wrapped in web-like substances, and the rest could be taking refuge in classrooms or closets, but no visible villain. Seeing that the roof and entrance had also been closed off with spider webs, she sighed; _another spider villain…?_ She could possibly break through, but it could be too sticky and might attach to her yo-yo, and then attract attention. _What to do…?_

Seeing a closet covered with a chair, she ran to it with light steps and removed the wooden seat; she opened the door to see Nino. "Ladybug? You're here!"

Shushing him, she handed him the unconscious male and helped him lie Luka down. "Stay here and keep him safe."

"Hold up, my girlfriend's out there."

"Alya?"

"Wait, how did you know she's my-"

"Isn't she that really good writer of the ladyblog?"

"Oh, yeah. She locked me in here earlier, but it got all quiet out there so now I'm worried."

"Don't worry about her; I'll make sure she's safe. In the meantime, stay here."

Locking the door behind her, she walked the halls carefully; awaiting the attack of a creepy crawler.

"_Here, spidey-spidey."_

A hand was laid on her shoulder and she jumped. Grabbing the arm of the supposed assailant, she twisted his arm until she laid her eyes on leather as well as hearing a familiar voice groan in pain. "Chat Noir?"

The charming feline's voice rasped, "Who else, m'lady?"

Releasing her grip on him, the two superheroes visibly relaxed. "Haven't seen you in a while, kitty. How have you been?"

"I've had better days."

"I think we both have. How'd you get in?"

"Through a window. You?"

Hesitant for a short moment, she thought of her answer quickly, "Same."

"Have you seen the akumatized victim?"

"Not yet. Have you?"

"Not so far. Plus, there aren't a lot of places to hide which leads me to wonder if they are even here anymore. Shouldn't she-"

"Or he."

"-_they_ have attacked by now?"

"Maybe they're just waiting for the right moment."

"Or maybe they went to look for a fleeing Chloe Bourgeois."

"How could you be so sure it's her that the victim is after?"

Raising an eyebrow, Ladybug scoffed. "She is one of the many reasons we've even had akumatized victims in the first place, Noir. I wouldn't exactly put it past her."

Although true, Ladybug failed to mention the fact she had heard it herself. _Not that Chat needed to know that..._ Nevertheless, Chat shook his head in disapproval. "It's just that you've never taken a liking to the girl. She looks up to you, you know?"

"If she does, then it certainly must mean I look down on her, doesn't it?"

"Whatever, I'm just not convinced."

"Well then, why don't we ask the witnesses?" Pointing to the cocoons above, the flirtatious Chat Noir winced. _This was going to take a while._

Running as fast as her skinny legs could carry her, Chloe raced down the streets of Paris; away from a huge, mechanical spider. The person inside grinned as he was gaining on the small, frail girl quickly. Suddenly, the purple symbol of communication appeared over his eyes; the metal gears inside of the huge arachnid groaned, showing his emotion of annoyance well.

"Forget her. Get to the heroes. Now."

"I'll get you what you want once I get my revenge."

Pain suddenly seared through his core, making him groan and whimper in the most unmanly manner. "Alright, alright! I'll head back to the high-school."

"Good. And don't forget about their miraculous."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…"

Gasping around the corner, the mayor's daughter pulled out her phone and dialed Sabrina's number. "I have to warn Ladybug…"

Helping Alya, as well as having Chat Noir help the rest of the student out of their entanglement; Ladybug stood her on her feet and smiled. "Are you okay?"

"Ladybug, you came!" Stifling her in a hug in one moment, she pulled away in the next. "Did you see my live feed?"

Playing along, she nodded encouragingly, "Yes, and thank you for your help."

Turning to the rest of the student body, of which some were still covered in webs here and there, she cleared her throat. "By any chance, do any of you happen to know who the villain is after?"

"Chloe Bourgeois, of course. Who else?" Kim crossed his arms angrily, almost appalled at the idea of it being anybody else. Suddenly, a door nearby burst open with Nino helping a limping Luka over. Everyone rushed over to their aid, helping sit Luka down against a wall.

"Luka! Are you okay?" Ladybug kneeled next to him, checking his wounds more thoroughly and making sure they weren't too fatal. Thankfully, besides a questioning stare from Luka himself, no one thought more about how well the superhero knew the male teen.

"I'm fine, Mare."

Both Ladybug's and Luka's eyes widened at his statement, and she shook her head, cursing herself. _Wasn't he unconscious at the time?_

Confused, Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at him, "Marinette? What are you talking about?"

"H-He must be hallucinating. Looks like his head is badly injured which would explain his delusions. We should get him to the hospital."

Avoiding having Ladybug's identity discovered as well, Juleka's older sibling looked to the purple haired girl and smiled wearily, playing along. "Grandma? Are you here too?"

Alya gasped, "Wait. Luka, where is Marinette? Weren't you with her last in the classroom?"

Pursing her lips, she stood and rubbed her forehead; _why was this always so complicated? _With a sigh, she looked to the other students. "Have you seen Marinette, or _Adrien_ for that matter?"

Nino smirked to himself as he responded, "Adrien went out to lunch. Mari probably tagged along. Who knows? They're probably holed up somewhere cuddling."

Frowning, and ignoring the comment, she went up to the window that leads to the outside of the school and into the bushes by the entry steps. "Here. One by one, out. Now. Find shelter. This place is collapsing..."

The students wasted no time listening to her order and proceeded to jump out. Juleka, however, paused, looking to Ladybug, "What about my brother? He can't go out that window in this condition…"

"I'll have Chat Noir escort him to the hospital."

Chat placed a hand on her shoulder, "And what about you?"

"What about me? I'll go around the city looking for our villain."

Sabrina interceded, and waved her cellphone, "Chloe called for you Ladybug."

"Why don't we just help him out the window?" Ignoring Chat's stupid questions, the heroine took the cell phone and placed it by her ear.

"Hello?"

"Ladybug! I just wanted to warn you, he's coming back for you and Chat Noir!"

"How did you-"

"Don't worry about it. Hey, why not after all this mess we-"

Hanging up, she walked over to Luka in a hurried manner to help him stand. "We don't have time to argue anymore, kitty. The villain is coming and Luka's health is the most pressing matter right now. You need to get them _and _the rest of this school to safety"

"Yeah, and what about yours?"

"That doesn't concern you. Now take him and leave."

"But m'lady-"

Crashing through the webs on the roof, a purple 10 foot spider landed in front of the students who hadn't jumped out yet, shaking the whole ground. "Chat Noir! Ladybug! Give me your miraculous."

Turning back to the leather cat, she handed Luka over. "Go! Now!"

Swinging her yo-yo, she smirked as she turned to the arachnid shaped villain. "Let's dance."

"Fine, but I'm warning you. I seem to be a bit…" One of the mechanical legs lifted and crashed down onto the floor, causing her to lose a bit of her balance, but she nevertheless remained standing. "Clumsy."

Growling, she yanked her yo-yo to tie around his legs when she noticed a bo-staff hit his eyes as to blind the user. Succeeding, she risked a glance to where the bo-staff came from and frowned.

"Chat Noir! You're supposed to be taking Luka to the hospital!"

"Don't worry about him. I put him in a safe place."

Spouting web out of the arachnid's behind, it fell onto the heroine's yo-yo string and laughed. "Lover's quarrel? Don't worry, I'll end what you two started."

Frustrated and seeing no obvious indication of where the Akuma was held, she pulled her weapon and called upon her hidden power. "Lucky charm!"

A small cork fell into her hands as she made a confused face [as she always did], "A cork? What am I going to do with a cork?"

Jumping on the back of the spider as it moved around to knock him off, the hero called out to her a serious yet humorous answer: "It's a butt plug for his web shooter!"

Ladybug's disgusted face turned into one of awe. "Chat! You're a genius! Now, pin him down with some debris from the roof by using your cataclysm to have him stuck!"

Chat Noir smirked, "Beauty and brains, you're wonderful M'lady."

Ladybug distracted it as Chat Noir climbed to what remained of the roof, and he called out, "Cataclysm!"

As the mechanical spider was distracted by the falling debris, she crawled under the huge bug and stood behind it, plugging his web hole. "Perfect."

The machine, now plugged, whirred and shook under the constipation of webs. The mechanical spider's legs now shook under the heavy metal. "No! You can't do this! Don't break now!"

As if unheard by the man's cries, the giant spider broke down completely, and opened the lip above its four eyes. Dragging the man out, Ladybug scowled at him, "End of the line. Now where's the Akuma?"

"You'll never get it out of me!"

"Found it! It was between the talons, where its mouth should be." Chat Noir smiled, and lifted a small frame with a spider squeezed inside of it.

"Ah. Crush it." Dropping the man back inside the machine, she got her yo-yo out as the small purple butterfly flew out of the souvenir, "No more evil-doing for you, little Akuma."

Purifying it, she yelled out her known catchphrase: "Miraculous Ladybug!"

With everything magically fixed, the heroes pounded their fists together happily. "Pound it."

Helping the man up and out of the school, Ladybug stood on the steps enjoying the sunlight for a moment. Chat Noir made his way to stand beside her, and smiled at her wistfully. "M'lady…"

"Yes, kitty?"

"I need to talk to you."

"About?"

"Well…"

"Not this again, Chat." Looking away, she placed her hand on her forehead. Ladybug couldn't be with him, and as much as it pained her, she hadn't learned to love this side of him just yet. _Just like he didn't love her other side either. Would they ever learn to?_

"Just hear me out. Trust me, I'll be quick."

Turning her head towards him, she heard her earrings beep, and frowned. "Then please do so- Hey!"

He grabbed her waist and pulled her close. Placing his hand over her chest, and she blushed. "Chat-"

"Shh..." Leaning in until their foreheads touched ever so slightly, he whispered to her his words. _The mint in his breath was practically intoxicating to her brain._ "Your heartbeat; that pounding… it means something. It means that it isn't just me that feels this, right?"

Gulping, she furrowed her eyebrows and let out a shaky breath, but didn't respond. She couldn't even look him in the eye.

"_Look at me."_

Reluctantly, she found herself gazing into his deep, green orbs. "I know you feel what I feel. You have to. And I know you may have some concerns about this, about our identities. But to hell with that, because I…"

He couldn't admit it. He couldn't get the words out, but something in those bluebell eyes told him she already knew, that she gets it. _But did she feel it as well?_ Seeing this as an opportunity, he leaned in for a kiss slowly, and then waiting about a second for a protest. For a moment, he thought, for a moment it seemed like it would finally happened. For a moment, it seemed like she wanted him to kiss her. For a moment, her eyes seemed to hold love and affection; they seemed vulnerable, unlike anything he had ever seen in his love's eyes. But the next moment, they were instantly guarded.

Ladybug pulled away angrily, and slapped his cheek immediately. Grasping it, Chat Noir looked at her confused.

"You have a girlfriend."

Looking away, he scoffed. "She's just a girl who figured out my identity and happens to have a dumb, little crush on me. Merely a cover. She means nothing to me."

He heard her breathe in sharply, and thought nothing of it. If anything, he expected a reprimand about keeping his identity secret. That is, until he heard her sniff; he looked at her, she looked away. But he still saw it: the tears.

And as if for the very first time in a long time and realized something. _Her hair… It's like…_

"M'lady…"

And then she was gone.

Nino and Alya stood at the top of the Eiffel tower as the sun set. Alya laughed at one of his jokes about Luka not wanting to let go of Chat when he handed him to the couple.

After the heroes saved the day, Nino brought his girlfriend here. _Cause why not?_ He was planning to do something he's been too ashamed to do previously, and he couldn't wait to see Alya's face when he did it. Nino's hand was placed over hers, then the mood turned serious. Alya's laugh faded as his brown eyes bored into hers.

"Alya?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry..."

"Nino, what do you have to be sorry about?"

"Almost everyday there's an akuma out there. Almost everyday we're at risk for our lives. And even then, I've spent it wasting time with you."

She bristled, "Excuse me? Nino, please I-"

He chuckled, "That came out a little wrong. I'm not planning to break up with you, trust me." Alya visibly relaxed, and he smiled.

"I just meant that, I'm sorry I can't do what you want me to."

Alya smiled and shook her head, "I don't need anything more than this right here, Nino."

Nino frowned and slightly pulled his hand away, "I need to tell you something Alya."

Alya quickly placed her hand back on his, "Anything. You can tell me anything."

"I'm scared. I'm scared of hurting you, and I'm scared that one day they'll never be able to save the day. I'm scared because I've never really been with anyone that makes me feel this way, Alya. Honestly, no matter how nervous I was about Marinette, it doesn't even compare to what I feel when I'm around you. And, I know you want more, but it's just hard for me sometimes."

"Nino, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pressure you into anything ever, I-"

"I want to too, Alya. But before, I was just a coward before."

Alya's eyebrows knitted in confusion, "Was?"

Her breath hitched as he leaned in, the hairs on the back of her neck seemed to stand as he leaned in. Her confidence seemed to leave her body with every inch his lips got closer. At first, slowly, then all at once.

Their lips met. Hers moved first, then his against her. They fought for control as they clung to each other.

Alya pulled away breathlessly, "Wait, I'm so confused-"

Nino pressed his forehead against her, and smiled. "I want to, Alya. I-If that's what you still want-"

"Yes! I mean-" A blush appeared over both their faces, and Alya frowned. "S-Sorry, that was a little eager… I just… I love you, Nino. It's our senior year and… I want to feel and be as close to you… College is right around the corner, and I honestly… I'm scared of losing you."

He smiled, and caressed her cheek. "You won't be able to get rid of me, Cesaire."

She chuckled, "I'm glad…"

That night, Marinette sat in her bed seeming paralyzed by Chat Noir (Adrien's) words as she kept looking into nothingness. _Adrien never cared about her. She was just a means to keep his secret. It was all a cover, it had to be. It had to be, just, lies._ She wasn't crying. Not this time. She wasn't upset.

She was angry.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it, Marinette. He was just-"

"Just what, Tikki? Just ashamed? Just embarrassed that a low-life girl had some dumb crush on him? God, I was so stupid. All those kisses-"

"Mari-"

"All those words-"

"Marinette."

"All of them were just lies, Tikki. I never should have let him in. There were so many things wrong with this, I knew it, and I didn't listen to my intuition when I should have."

"It isn't your fault. No one could have predicted that he'd act that way or say those things today."

Shaking her head, she looked down at her hands and sighed. "Luka was right, we need space between us."

Tikki bristled, clearly not knowing what to say.

"I… I'm gonna go visit him in the hospital. Tikki, Spots On!"

She made it to the hospital window of Luka Coffaine quickly. "Spots Off."

Noticing the shine of pink coming from his window, Luka sat up alarmed. "Who's there?"

Marinette sheepishly climbed into the room from the sill, "I-It's just me, Luka. I, uh, thought we should talk."

He visibly relaxed, and scooted over in his hospital bed. "Well, there's room for one more."

Wordlessly, the heroine climbed into the hospital bed, laying next to him as her eyes teared up. She sniffled, "Thanks, Luka." She rubbed her eyes, and Luka put his arm around hers. "I, I probably owe you an explanation, don't I?"

"You don't owe me anything, Mari. Ladybug or not, you're still the same girl I fell for. The same melody that's been stuck in my head. Honestly, whether you love me or not, I'm just here to listen and care for you."

She whimpered, her tears falling down her cheeks freely, "He doesn't love me, Luka. Not like he loves Ladybug, and I can't-"

"He's a great dude, Marinette. A great friend, and more. But he's a fool."

She turned her head up towards him, "Luka-"

"I don't care, Mari. Anyone who could let go of something as great as you is a straight up fool. You're adorable, and clumsy, and artistic. And you're beautiful." Luka looked down at her and smiled, rubbing her shoulder. "What an idiot, to have you in his grasp, but to just let you go so easily."

Marinette shook her head, sniffled, and dug her head inside his shoulder. She cried silently, and sighed. "You know before I got here, I was just mad. But seeing you and being with you... "

"It's okay. Just… Let it out, Mari." He hugged her closer, and sighed. His thoughts plagued him as she eventually stopped crying, and fell asleep in her arms. He knew he'd always be there for her. Even if they both got married, even if they grew apart… He knew that if she called him, he'd always pick up. Did it bother him? A litte. But as she cuddled against him, and as he closed his eyes wistfully, and as they fell asleep together, he would never give his love for her up. Not even for the world.

**Wow, just wow. Even I was blown away. Well, I hope you readers enjoyed this chapter. Leave some love and take care!**

**PS Sorry for the delay, senior life gets complicated :/**

**~Asylum~**


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